Joshua Reynolds was a British painter best known for his grandiose portraits of high-ranking members of society. His dramatic style of painting can be compared to that of Romantic artists Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens for his used of strong lighting, rich colors, and impasto brushstrokes, as seen in Self-Portrait (1775) and The Strawberry Girl (1777). Unafraid to use experimental painting techniques, he is now considered one of Britain’s most influential painters for his attempts to reform British painting and elevate it to the standards of the Old Masters. Born in 1723 in Plympton, United Kingdom, he went on to study with Thomas Hudson in London before traveling across Europe to study the works of the Old Masters and art theory...