Samuel William Reynolds facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel William Reynolds
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Samuel William Reynolds self-portrait
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| Born | July 4, 1773 |
| Died | August 13, 1835 (aged 62) |
Samuel William Reynolds (born July 4, 1773 – died August 13, 1835) was a very talented artist. He was known for making special kinds of prints called mezzotints. He also painted beautiful landscapes and even designed gardens! Samuel Reynolds was popular in both Britain and France. You can find over 400 of his works in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
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About Samuel William Reynolds
Samuel William Reynolds was born on July 4, 1773. His father was from the West Indies. He moved to England for his education. There, he met and married Samuel's mother, Sarah Hunt.
Early Life and Training
Samuel Reynolds studied art at the Royal Academy schools. He also learned from famous mezzotint engravers. These teachers included Charles Howard Hodges and John Raphael Smith. His first known mezzotint print was a portrait of George, Prince of Wales. He made this print in May 1794.
Creating Amazing Artworks
By 1797, Reynolds was a master of his art. He created many impressive works over the next 20 years. These included animal scenes like The Vulture and Lamb. He also made portraits of important people. Some of these were after paintings by famous artists. He worked on pieces by Joshua Reynolds and John Hoppner.
Reynolds also worked with J. M. W. Turner on his Liber Studiorum project. This was a collection of landscape prints. Reynolds worked very quickly. He often mixed different printing styles. He used etching, aquatint, and stipple engraving with his mezzotint technique.
Working with Important People
Early in his life, Reynolds became friends with Samuel Whitbread. Whitbread was a wealthy and influential person. Through this connection, Reynolds met people from the Drury Lane Theatre. He became good friends with Thomas Sheridan and Edmund Kean. He even helped Edmund Kean get ready for his role as Othello.
Reynolds also taught drawing to the royal princesses. He was offered jobs at the royal court. He turned these down. However, he did accept the job of engraver to the king. He even refused a knighthood! In 1820, he published a special portrait of King George III. It showed the king in his old age with a beard.
Throughout his career, Reynolds also painted. He used both oil and watercolour. He showed his landscape paintings at the Royal Academy. His landscapes were very original and powerful. Many of them were sold in France and Germany. This is why he was not as well known as a painter in Britain.
Travels and Influence in France
In 1809, Reynolds visited Paris for the first time. He showed his engravings at the Salon in 1810 and 1812. Between 1820 and 1826, he created a huge series of 357 small prints. These prints copied all the known works of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Samuel Reynolds believed he was related to Sir Joshua.
After finishing this project, he went back to Paris. French artists were very excited about his paintings and engravings. Many of them became his students. An article in L'Artiste magazine praised his amazing talents.
Reynolds made many prints while in France. These included The Raft of the Medusa after Géricault. He also made prints after works by Léon Cogniet and Horace Vernet. Several of these were shown at the Salon in 1827.
Later Life and Family
Reynolds started a large print of John Constable's painting The Lock. Sadly, he passed away before he could finish it. A letter from Reynolds, praising Constable's original painting, is in Leslie's Life of Constable.
Samuel Reynolds had many students. Some of his most talented students were Samuel Cousins, David Lucas, and John Lucas. He was also a skilled landscape gardener. He designed the gardens at Southall and Mount Edgcumbe.
He died on August 13, 1835, from paralysis. He passed away at Ivy Cottage in Bayswater, London. His art collection was sold after his death. He had married Jane Cowen in 1793. They had two sons and three daughters. His wife lived for several more years.
His older son, Samuel William Reynolds Jr. (1794–1872), also became a famous mezzotint engraver and landscape painter. One of his daughters, Elizabeth, was a talented miniaturist. She married the engraver William Walker. Another daughter, Frances, showed her miniature paintings at the Royal Academy.
Several portraits were made of Samuel Reynolds. Edward Bell etched a small portrait of him. His friend Ary Scheffer also painted him. A humorous drawing by A. E. Chalon shows Reynolds working in an art gallery. John Opie painted a portrait of Reynolds's wife.
