Raya Yotova 
Joshua Reynolds: 55 Drawings & Studies 

The book, being a collection of 55 drawings, is a good sample for a large number of artist’s great work, and for those who want to know more about Joshua Reynolds’s drawing. Actually it is a good book for those who like to study more about art: 55 sketches in a book is not a big amount of picture in a picture book, but it is still very useful for those who like drawing and want to study something from other great masters’ sketches.

Joshua Reynolds was one of the major European painters of the 18th Century. He promoted the ‘Grand Style’ in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769.

Alongside ambitious full-length portraits, Reynolds painted large numbers of smaller works. In the late 1750s, at the height of the social season, he received five or six sitters a day, each for an hour.

Reynolds also was recognized for his portraits of children. He emphasized the innocence and natural grace of children when depicting them.

Reynolds worked long hours in his studio, rarely taking a holiday. He was gregarious and keenly intellectual, with many friends from London’s intelligentsia, numbered amongst whom were Dr Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Edmund Burke, Giuseppe Baretti, Henry Thrale, David Garrick, and artist Angelica Kauffman.

The book is also good for library collection, and will be helpful for someone doing drawing studies. Reproductions are good for the richness of color. Comprehensive and the images are of good quality considering the electronic format. It’s like a really good study catalog with references, perfect for learning about line, shading and composition rather than a coffee table book. This book provided the tools needed to elevate your drawing ability to a higher level and teaches how to draw both realistically and beautifully. It steps back into the best and reveals how the old masters illustrated and sculpted.