MINIATURE AFTER SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. POSSIBLY, 19TH CENTURIES. NEOCLASSICAL FRAME.

Miniature with bronze frame in Neoclassical style (19th century). “Mrs. Smith (Charlotte Delaval) and her children (George, Henry, Louisa and Charlotte)”. Based on the work of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Possibly, 19th century. Signed in the lower right corner (Reynolds). Rectangular frame arranged vertically with a series of mouldings with different decorations and a top with latticework, leaves and openwork flowers. Inside, there is a band of cloth embroidered with plant elements, and there is also an old textile on the back to protect the work. The miniature in the centre has a natural landscape background (some trees and an opening to the horizon can be seen to the right) and some figures in the foreground. An elegantly dressed lady brings her hand to her cheek; the three children to her right are also dressed in gala attire and playing with each other (two of them are also looking towards the viewer). The miniature is closely inspired by a painting now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a portrait of “Mrs. Smith (Charlotte Delaval) and her children (George, Henry, Louisa and Charlotte)” by Sir Joshua Reynolds (Plympton 1723-London, 1792) in 1787 (Inventory 25.110.10). It is known that engravings were made of this painting (Francesco Bartolozzi in 1789; R. Josey in 1880) and that Samuel Shelley (1750/56-1808) made an oval miniature closely inspired by it (Lady Smith is shown without a hat in it) and which is in a private collection (sold by Sotheby's in London in 1977). The most obvious changes in the miniature compared to Sir Joshua's work are the colour of Mrs Smith's dress, the children's faces (more delicate), the landscape in the background, the general tone of the work and the addition of the flowers in the lower right corner. In another private collection there is a miniature (by the British artist Frank W. Wilkin) showing the three children of Sir Robert Smith and Lady Charlotte, also inspired by Sir Joshua Reynolds' painting. Samuel Shelley was born in London and was a largely self-taught artist, best known for his watercolour miniature portraits. He first exhibited his work at the Society of Artists in 1773 and a year later entered the Royal Academy Schools, where his work was influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds. His work is held in numerous private collections around the world, including the Yale Centre for British Art, the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Royal Collection of the British Royal Family, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, etc. Francis William Wilkin, or Frank Wilkin (1791-1842) was an engraver who specialised in portrait painting and began working in miniatures, although he also worked in other genres.

· Size: 19x13 cms / 37x25 cms.