These magnificent mezzotints reproduce the pair of paintings that Reynolds executed for the new rooms of the Royal Academy at Somerset House. In his self-portrait Reynolds, the President of the Academy, proclaims himself as the heir of the old masters, with references to Van Dyck in the pose and Rembrandt in the lighting, and a bust of Michelangelo by his side. Chambers, the architect of Somerset House and Treasurer of the Academy, is shown as if interrupted in the act of drawing a plan on the table before him.

Cat. 38–39