Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, Studio Experiments in Colour and Media.
Oil on canvas. 609 mm x 509 mm x 13 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
Studio Experiments in Colour and Media
Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (1723 - 1792)
RA Collection: Art
On free display in Collection Gallery
Sir Joshua Reynolds was well known among his contemporaries for his bold experimentation with painting materials and techniques. Occasionally his practice of concocting unusual mixtures of wax, oils, gums and varnishes led to problems in his finished works, with paint flaking and cracking.
Reynolds used canvases like this to test out colours and combinations. It contains over 150 colour samples, ranging from translucent glazes to thicker samples applied with a palette knife. Alongside the samples are written notations indicating the various combinations of pigments and media such as 'Orp. White Y with the Varn' (orpiment, white, yellow with the varnish) and 'Prussian Blue Cer' (Prussian blue and wax).
Object details
609 mm x 509 mm x 13 mm
Start exploring the RA Collection
- Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
- Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
Our Collection is a record of them.
Related articles
-
![Richard Cosway RA, Richard and Maria Cosway, and Ottobah Cugoano (detail)]()
Our Collection
1 year ago
Untold Stories
Recent research reveals how the Royal Academy’s founding artists worked amidst Britain’s imperial expansion in the 18th century, the transatlantic slave trade, and a growing abolitionist movement.
-
![Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA, pocket book]()
Inside the Academy
> 1 year ago
Discover the diary of Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA
On the 300th anniversary of the birth of our first president Sir Joshua Reynolds, we’ve digitised his diary for the first time. Here’s what we’ve learnt from this intriguing historical document.
-
![Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA,, Self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA]()
Our Collection
> 1 year ago
Creative inspiration today from the first President of the Royal Academy
The RA’s founding President Joshua Reynolds may have shaken up the art world when he delivered his ‘Discourses’ lectures, but are they still relevant now? We take a closer look at what artists and art-lovers can learn from the series today.
-
![Joe Lycett, Chris]()
RA Exhibitions
> 2 years ago
Nine eyebrow-raising moments from the Summer Exhibition
From the time we rejected Banksy to Turner’s “gunshot in the gallery”, the Summer Exhibition has regularly ruffled the feathers of British art in its 254 years. Here are some of our favourite moments!
