Big hats, red coats and a lamb

Joshua Reynolds

Joshua Reynolds and the families who sat for him, from the 1740s to the end of the 1780s. Two children and their tutor with a lamb, three gentlemen at a table under the trees with a dog at their feet, Anne Dashwood holding a shepherd’s crook, Lady Smith gathering her three children close, Captain Coussmaker leaning on a tree beside his horse, and a little girl in a pink cap, sitting very still with her hands folded.

As a puzzle

Start with the faces, the red coats and the pale silks, which stand out well against the trees. The backgrounds are the slow part: dark foliage, brown trunks and soft, cloudy skies with few edges, and Coussmaker’s horse is one deep brown shape. Lady Smith and her children, and the Neates with their lamb, give you plenty to hold on to. A middle count suits most of them.

A good size here: 50–200 pieces.

Also filed under British Painting

Subjects here: Portraits Horses Children

8 pictures, pick one to build