Consider these two military portraits in the Metropolitan Museum: Captain George K.H.Coussmaker by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1782 (Gallery 629, Acquisition #20.155.3) and Portrait of a German Officer by Marsden Hartley, 1914 (Gallery 910, Acquisition # 49.70.42).
Carefully view each of these portraits in the museum.Thoroughly describe them. Although their titles and presumed content indicate sameness, they are quite distinct.Compare the treatment of their subject matter in the contexts of their creation in both the corpus of each artist’s practice and in the period in which each was painted.What do you think is the most important conclusion to be drawn from the comparison?
In order to consider the practice of each artist and the historic context of that work you will need to look beyond the paintings themselves.Your work should include citations and a bibliography.