Dr Samuel Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds

Samuel Johnson
Courtesy of Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Call number MS Hyde 51 (25)

‘This is the first impression of the plate after Mr Heath the engraver thought it was finished. He went with me to Sir Joshua Reynolds who suggested that the countenance was too young and not thoughtful enough. Mr Heath therefore altered it so much to its advantage that Sir Joshua was quite satisfied and Heath then saw such a difference that he said he would not for a hundred pounds have had it remain as it was’.

In the third state Johnson’s gaze is shown marginally changed towards the spectator, shadows have appeared around the eyes and a frown on the forehead. The chair arm is shown below the right wrist. Boswell wrote another inscription on this third state, which is now at Harvard University: ‘Second impression of Dr Johnson’s portrait after the Plate had been improved by Sir Joshua Reynolds’s suggestions. Mr Heath afterwards gave it a few additional touches’. The fourth and final state is virtually the same as the third state but has slight additional touches on the coat and breeches. This is how the print appeared when it was published in 1791 as the frontispiece to Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson.

By virtue of the sequence of proofs the changes to Johnson’s features can be followed so that he appeared older and conveyed more gravitas as befitting the image of a venerated older man of learning and compiler of the Dictionary. Details of his coat and wig were also changed but the principal difference from the original composition related to the addition of books, an inkwell with second quill and a wooden card table. It can be demonstrated from Boswell’s inscriptions on the second and third states of the engraving that Reynolds appears to have been involved in the supervision of the production of the engraving. As Boswell claimed in his inscriptions, Reynolds was ‘quite satisfied’ with alterations in the engraving intended to transform a portrait of a young Johnson into an image of an older celebrated literary figure.

Recent conservation has revealed that the painted portrait of Dr Samuel Johnson also underwent a number of changes which are linked to the alterations made to the engraving. Technical analysis indicates that several elements including books, an inkwell and a second quill on the table were subsequent additions to the portrait. It is not clear whether they were added in Reynolds’s studio or by a separate artist but their presence in the engraving in 1791 suggests they were identified with the portrait by this time. In the cross-section shown above, for example, it is clear that the green draped table was present in the painting before the subsequent overlayer of pigments used to create the wooden card table.

Samuel Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds
NPG 1597 as it appeared before 1976

The Life of The Portrait in the 19th and 20th Centuries

Due to his experimental use of paint, during the early nineteenth century the painting of Johnson began to fade, as is typical of Reynolds’s work. In 1825, in the same year that it was sold on Boswell’s death, it was described as ‘completely faded’ by Lady Boswell. In 1867, the complexion was described as ‘quite pale’ and the whole was not considered worthy of Reynolds by a representative of the National Portrait Gallery who had inspected the work. In 1884, the portrait was described as having been ‘painted on’ when it was exhibited at the Grosvenor House Gallery (Ingamells, p. 288). This phrase probably refers to heavy restorations that the work had undergone during preceding decades in an attempt to improve the decayed surface and troubled appearance of a portrait of such an important national figure. It was in such a condition that the work was given anonymously to the National Portrait Gallery in 1911.

Samuel Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds
NPG 1597 as it appeared 1976-2007

In 1976 the portrait underwent significant restoration treatment in order to consolidate its condition and appearance. As shown in the first image above, in its pre-1976 condition, the painting had become very dark, particularly in the background, and this was felt to be detrimental to the appearance of the work. Various conclusions were drawn at the time of this conservation which related to the chronology of the additions to Reynolds’s work and the extent of nineteenth-century restorations. But at this time, in 1976, the existence of the inscriptions on the second and third proof engravings was not widely known. On the basis that aspects of the composition, as itemised above, were later additions to the painting and did not appear to be by Reynolds’s own hand and, using the technical and research tools available at the time, it was decided to proceed with a treatment which would alter alter the appearance of the work. In this respect discoloured varnish was removed together with considerable brown overpaint on the background and jacket, the retouchings on the face and the wooden card table. The books, inkwell and second quill were covered over (with an easily soluble paint) and the table with the green tablecloth was revealed. New varnish was applied and the cool green-grey colours were restored. The painting then looked like this until 2007.

Recent Conservation Treatment

Extensive conservation work was required following damage to the painting by a member of the public in 2007. The latest treatment comprised structural consolidations and relining to ensure the stability of the canvas. It also involved a decision to reveal the books, second quill and inkwell based on the latest academic and technical findings. The factors described above have made this painting extremely difficult to conserve but have led us to believe that insomuch as it is known that the additions to the 1756 composition were approved of by Reynolds they should, as far as is now possible, appear part of the portrait. The images shown below illustrate some of the different types of examination which were used to help in the recent conservation treatment and to assist our understanding of the painting’s history.

A Photomicrograph of an area of damage
of the green table cloth

This x-ray image shows the stretcher bars
and the first version of the wig by Reynolds

The ultra-violet image indicates the extent of previous retouching (the non-fluorescing dark patches)

Select Bibliography
A. Graves and W.V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1899-1901, II
James Boswell, Life of Johnson, 1791
E. K. Waterhouse, Reynolds, 1941
The Conservator 5 1981, pp. 36-40
Johnson, exhibition catalogue, Arts Council, 1984
I.S.Lustig, ‘Facts and Deductions: The Curious History of Reynolds’s First Portrait of Johnson, 1756’, in The Age of Johnson, A Scholarly Annual, 1987
David Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 2000
John Ingamells, Mid-Georgian Portraits, 2004