Jane Fleming, later Countess of Harrington

Maker Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723-1792)

SitterSitter: Jane Fleming, later Countess of Harrington (British, 1755 - 1824)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1778-1779

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions94 1/4 x 58 1/16 in. (239.4 x 147.5 cm.) frame: 109 × 73 × 6 in. (276.9 × 185.4 × 15.2 cm.)

DescriptionStanding center, full-front, her left foot advanced, her head three-quarters left. Her right arm, covered by rose drapery, is extended, the hand palm up; her left arm a little behind her, the hand resting on her robe, on a balustrade. Dark-brown hair, with rose ribbon and white plumes, the ends on her right shoulder blown by the wind. White lawn or muslin chemise over her left shoulder and arm; a classical rose robe, fastened over her left shoulder by a rose silk band, covering the right arm and shoulder and swathing the body. Her sash is blue, the robe-lining dull violet. In the right background, an urn and tree trunk; a slope topped by trees in the left; a stone balustrade across the left foreground. Cloudy blue sky behind the head and shoulders.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextReynolds combined several elements in this portrait: idealization and the theatrical presentation of his sitter, as well as references to contemporary fashion. To invest his sitter, Jane Fleming, with cultural authority, Reynolds modeled her pose on the Apollo Belvedere, a renowned sculpture from antiquity. The influence of classical imagery is also clear in the gown’s rhythmic folds of fabric and the Greek key pattern along its hem. Contemporary audiences would have recognized Jane’s outstretched hand and arm as a conventional theater gesture that actors assumed when about to speak. Reynolds also refers to contemporary fashion, depicting Jane’s hair ornamented by the ostrich feathers that the Duchess of Devonshire had recently made popular.

Status

On view

Object number13.3