Lady Sunderland

The woman depicted is the eldest daughter of Godolphin Rooper. In 1778 she married a rich London barrister, whom King George III created Baron Sunderland of Lake in 1785. A rich silk robe and chiffon shawl interwoven with gold hide the flesh-tints, which are executed in cold shades. Just as in the 17th-century Flemish painting that was so universally popular in England at the time, the sculpturally rendered figure is placed in front of a section of ideal landscape. This background, which is to an extent developed from the colour, and forms create an agreeable contrast with the graphic hardness of the figure. Reynolds, who was President of the Royal Academy, provides a striking example of 18th-century English classicism with this late work. Baron Sunderland paid his fee for this work in November 1786. This fact confi rms the dating of the Berlin painting.