Investigating Painting: Captain Foote by Sir Joshua Reynolds

Hello and welcome to York Art Gallery. I'm the Friends of York Art Gallery Research Scholar. Today I'm going to be talking to you about Sir Joshua Reynolds' portrait of Captain John Foote. The painting was made between 1761 and 1765 when Reynolds was ascending as a promising young British painter. Later he went on to become the first president of the Royal Academy which was created in 1768 and he was highly influential to British art of the period. Reynolds pioneered an artistic style of painting influenced by the art of the continent called the Grand Manor. In particular he promoted idealised depictions of heroic battles and ancient myths called history paintings. However Reynolds soon realised that the British audience at the time far preferred a good portrait. He mastered the art of society portraiture and became highly sought after by the titled and the wealthy, especially those wanting to show off their image at the popular public exhibitions at the time. In fact showing off is exactly what Captain Foote seems to be doing here. He's standing austerely and conventionally as the main focus of the work. A drape of luxurious curtain billows behind him and an idyllic blue sky peeps through highlighting his features. Reynolds has depicted him in detail with delicate brush strokes and thin layers of paint, especially on his clothes and face. The frame also echoes contemporary trends. Its acanthus leaf decoration highlights the fashion for classicism at the time which was generally seen as learned and dignified. The impressive detailing of the frame and its golden sheen emphasise that the work was made for display. Nothing makes the painting's showy quality more clear than Captain Foote's exotic outfit. Its whiteness makes it stand out and the detailing of the luxury material and its patterns catches the eye. Captain Foote was a captain of the East India Company and came back to Britain after making his wealth in India. His outfit has in fact been identified as a real Indo-Mughal patka shawl and jama gown and he also wears a turban. These items may have been given to him by a Mughal ruler at a courtly ceremony called a derbar. This perhaps made them particularly special items for the captain as markers of his success abroad. Very unusually York Art Gallery also hold these clothes in their collection and they are sometimes displayed next to the painting in the gallery. Currently the painting of Captain Foote is surrounded by other colonial and post-colonial works here in the Burton Gallery. From Sir Peter Lely's Lady Charlotte Fitzroy with an Indian page from 1662. To Susan Stockwell's 2008 colonial dress made of a colonial map of Africa. So there we have it, a fascinating portrait all about fancy dressing. Come and visit the fashionable captain for yourself and see whether his portrait impresses you.