Portraiture was used as a political strategy in 18th century Britain in three key ways: 1) Portraits gave women visibility and influence in the public sphere at a time when they traditionally had little political power. 2) Portraits were able to influence public decision-making and challenge prevailing social norms through their psychological impact on viewers and ability to associate sitters with certain ideas. 3) Artists used portraiture to expose social problems and communicate ideas of social reform, challenging the traditional functions of portraiture as a political tool.

1. Po
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Portraiture as a Political Strategy in Eighteenth-Century Britain.
Rose Jeanette Hellyar
BCUR 17 Bournemouth University, 25th-26th April 2017.

2. Contents
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Why is a portrait political ?
What portraits did for women.
Summary
The problem

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Fig 1: Angelica Kauffmann, Angelica Kauffmann, Oil on canvas,
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK.

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Explore the
countryside
Fresh air
Good form
of exercise
Health
benefits
Very
Rewarding
Enjoyable
Fig 2: “The Rainbow Portrait” Queen Elizabeth I, Isaac Oliver, 1600-1603, Oil on Canvas,
Hatfield House, UK.

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Fig 5: Ann Ford, Thomas Gainsborough, 1760, Oil on Canvas, Unknown location
Fig 6: Madame de Pompadour, Quentin DeLatour, 1748-55, Oil on Canvas, Musee de Louvre,
Paris, France.

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Fig 7: Kitty Fischer as Cleopatra dissolving the
Pearl, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1752, Oil on canvas,
Tate Britain Gallery, London, UK.

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Fig 8: The Morning Walk, Thomas Gainsborough,
1785, Oil on canvas, The National Gallery, London,
UK.
Fig 9: George Clive and his Family and an Indian
Maid, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1765, Oil on canvas,
Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany.

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Summary
It challenges portraiture’s functions, by
looking from a different perspective.
They influence public
decision- making through
social engagement and
psychology.
Has been used before as a political tool, and therefore can be done
again.
It gives women visibility in the public sphere.
Was a way to challenge public thinking.
Could influence us psychologically in how we make decisions on
political matters, and how we associate ourselves with the sitter and
their ideas.
Was used to expose social problems, and communicate ideas of social
reform.

9. Thanks
Any Questions?
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10. Bibliography
•Barrell, J. The Political Theory of Painting, from Reynolds to Hazlitt,( Yale
University Press, 1982.)
•Fischlin, D. Political Ideology, Absolutist Ideology and the “Rainbow
Portrait” of Queen Elizabeth I, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 1, (The
University of Chicago Press, 1997) 175-78.
• Parkin, A. Essential Cognitive Psychology,( Psychology Press, 2000.)
•Pointon, M. Hanging the Head; Portraiture and Social Formation in
Eighteenth-Century England,( Yale University Press, 1993.)
• Leca, B. “Gainsborough; Reynolds and The Gender Dynamics of
Portraiture” from Leca, B. Thomas Gainsborough and The Modern
Woman, (Giles Publishing Ltd, 2010.).
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