Portrait of Colonel Vernon / A Gentleman in Armour

The pose of the sitter in this painting is probably derived from half-length engravings of a portrait by 17th-century court painter Anthony van Dyck, a key figure in the development of British portraiture before Joshua Reynolds’ time. Dressed in a suit of armour and looking over his shoulder, Colonel Vernon transmits an air of cold, elegant detachment. His ghostly pale face is in fact an accident – Reynolds liked experimenting with new pigments, and some of his pink flesh tones faded even during the lifetime of the people he portrayed. The highlights on the shiny steel plate are rendered in very free, impasto brushstrokes.