Mrs. Richard Paul Jodrell 1774 - 1776

Joshua Reynolds painted this portrait of Mrs. Richard Paul Jodrell, sometime in the late 18th century, using oil on canvas. Reynolds was the first president of the Royal Academy, so his approach to portraiture was shaped by the classical and academic traditions that the institution promoted. Here, Mrs. Jodrell is depicted in the guise of a fashionable ‘Turk,’ her head wrapped in an exotic turban. This Orientalist trope was common in British portraiture at the time, reflecting Britain’s expanding trade routes and colonial interests in the East. By dressing his sitter in this way, Reynolds was commenting on the social status and cultural awareness of his patron. He subtly elevated her position within British society. To better understand this portrait, one might research the history of the Royal Academy, British Orientalism, and the biography of Mrs. Jodrell herself. In doing so, we recognize the meaning of art as contingent on its social and institutional context.