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How did Joshua Reynolds receive the scar visible in many of his self-portraits?
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Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds, detail of self-portrait, oil on panel, 1780; in the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
The scar visible on the lip of Joshua Reynolds in many of his self-portraits was the result of a fall from a horse. This accident occurred in 1749 while he was in Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands, and the injury detained him there for five months.1