Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds

Joshua Reynolds painted many self-portraits in his long career, many of which were reproduced as prints during his lifetime. This example, engraved by Sherwin in 1784, presents the sitter wearing doctoral robes and holding open papers in his right hand. Both the Universities of Dublin and Oxford had conferred honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law on Reynolds and the…

Joshua Reynolds painted many self-portraits in his long career, many of which were reproduced as prints during his lifetime. This example, engraved by Sherwin in 1784, presents the sitter wearing doctoral robes and holding open papers in his right hand. Both the Universities of Dublin and Oxford had conferred honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law on Reynolds and the lettering below the image here proudly records these and other honors. The print publicized Reynolds's fame, echoing his own words that "distinction is what we all seek." Sherwin produced and published many translations of Reynolds's paintings.