“Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers”
“Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers” is an oil on canvas painting from 1769 by the English portrait artist, Joshua Reynolds. This double portrait is life-size and shows the two men on a hunt, with already attained game at their feet.
Lord Dudley Sydney, on the left, was an Irish politician and diplomat. Colonel John Acland, on the right, was an English soldier who fought for Britain during the American War for Independence and was briefly held as a prisoner of war by the Americans. Both men were aristocrats.
Reynolds worked in the “Grand Style” in which modern pieces were painted in a classical and idealized manner. This classical interpretation is evident in this double portrait. Though the shotgun was the favored hunting tool of the day, Reynolds depicts the men with bows and in medieval style archer clothes. Archery was having a resurgence in popularity at the time.
This was painted just after Reynolds became appointed the very first president of the Royal Academy of Art in London, and the same year that he was knighted by King George III. Reynolds believed that art should get its inspiration from noble and higher ideals and that idea is clearly conveyed in this nontraditional portrait painting. Loosely inspired by the Italian master, Titian, it was Reynolds’ way of stating that portraiture can be as grand as history painting.
“Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers” is currently on display at the Tate Gallery in London, England.
For more on Joshua Reynolds, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
