Sir Joshua Reynolds specialized in portraiture and apprenticed under Thomas Hudson in 1740. He left his apprenticeship in 1743. in 1749 he joined the ship the HMS centurion on a voyage to the Mediterranean well with the ship he traveled broadly but eventually he settled in London where he became an extremely prolific painter and spent most of his career. 

his detailed style of portraiture didn’t shy away from the reality of his sitters. He left in imperfections and captured the sitter’s likeness with incredible skill. He used natural colors and captured his subject’s human beauty. as someone who enjoys portraiture and appreciates how difficult it is his works amaze me.