How did Joshua Reynolds help establish the Grand Manner in English portraiture?

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Joshua Reynolds: self-portrait — Joshua Reynolds Joshua Reynolds, detail of self-portrait, oil on panel, 1780; in the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Joshua Reynolds played a pivotal role in elevating English portraiture by steering it away from indigenous, anecdotal styles toward the formal rhetoric of the continental Grand Manner. He achieved this through a combination of scholarly study, artistic practice, and institutional leadership.1

Key factors in his establishment of this style included:

Study of Old Masters: During his time in Italy, Reynolds immersed himself in Greco-Roman sculpture and the works of Renaissance masters like Titian and Tintoretto. He believed that by allying painting with deep scholarship and the study of classical antiquity, he could raise the status of his profession.1
Academic Instruction: As the first president of the Royal Academy, Reynolds used his annual Discourses Delivered at the Royal Academy to outline the essence of grandeur in art. He advocated for rigorous academic training and the emulation of classical forms to achieve a higher artistic standard.1
Classical Influence: He frequently incorporated classical poses—such as his use of the Apollo Belvedere—and increasingly adopted rigid, antique patterns in the dress and posture of his sitters to imbue his portraits with a sense of timeless, classical dignity.1