Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)

by David Mannings

Buy new: $265.00 $212.00 Buy used: $240.00

Editorial Reviews

This splendid two-volume catalogue of the paintings of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), the father of British portrait painting and first president of the Royal Academy, represents one of the most important scholarly projects of recent decades in the field of eighteenth-century British art. Reynolds's paintings -- well over two thousand -- are scattered across the world in hundreds of public and private collections and libraries. The catalogue includes illustrations of nearly all of the artist's works and offers a critical reexamination of each painting, taking full advantage of modern methods and the findings of conservation experts. David Mannings provides the entries for the portraits, and Martin Postle contributes the entries for Reynolds's historical and fancy pictures. Taking into account two centuries of art criticism and the observations of leading modern authorities, the catalogue also considers such enlightening documents as the artist's sitter-books and ledgers. It reexamines Reynolds's studio practice and procedures, working methods, use of assistants and prices, and it delineates with new clarity the distinction between Reynolds's work and that of his many followers and imitators.

Customer Reviews

Depends what you're after, 2003-10-23

I personally think, that these volumes would normally appeal to an art or university library, but the average art lover could find them a tad disappointing for the price. Both volumes are huge - measuring about 12cm wide together on the bookcase; but the text volume is only text and the prints are mostly black and white.
I wouldn't attempt to knock these guys for inaccuracy. They seem to have taken a thorough and methodical approach to the whole subject with the details of each portrait carefully listed and catalogued. However, I do think it's a shame that they didn't go the extra mile and ensure that more of the reproductions were in colour. Reynolds was a superb portrait artist and I don't feel that this catalogue comes even close to really showcaseing his work.
Regarding the colour plates; in the prints volume there are 132 in colour, but a fairly random selection that I think misses a lot of his best portrait work. The rest of the prints are in black and white and listed four to a page. I was also a bit disappointed with the quality of the photography, as I've seen better prints of most of the paintings that I recognised in other publications.
So five stars for the scholarship and research - but in my opinion, for the price, only get it if you really, really love Reynolds.