A Guide to Eighteenth Century Art

Collection, London, has discovered through the use of Xrays and infrared images the ways in which
Reynolds often altered an original hairstyle in a painting, to reflect a more modern trend. Reynolds often
gave his female sitters fantasy roles in grand mythological narratives or portrayed male sitters in grand
dress indicative of their public roles, while also representing at times more private capacities for
introspection and a refined sensibility (Hallett, 2014, 18–19, 108–113, 226–239). He also introduced less
formal settings, such as the “natural” yet stormy backdrop in his Anne Dashwood (1743–1830), Later
Countess of Galloway (1764) (Figure 2.7). In Gainsborough’s portraits, such settings assumed a larger
role, reflecting a growing interest not just in naturalism but also in spending time in “nature.”