{"id":643675,"date":"2026-08-18T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/643675\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:00:23","slug":"up-close-with-joshua-reynolds-portrait-of-mai-ahead-of-getty-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/643675\/","title":{"rendered":"Up close with Joshua Reynold’s ‘Portrait of Mai’ ahead of Getty debut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A nearly 8-foot canvas by the great 18th century English portrait painter Joshua Reynolds recently made the journey from London\u2019s National Portrait Gallery to the Getty Museum in Brentwood, where it will make its grand West Coast debut next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Portrait of Mai,\u201d which depicts a regal-looking young Tahitian man who arrived in London with Capt. James Cook in 1774, was purchased by the Getty two years ago in a celebrated and rare joint acquisition with NPG after the privately held painting was put up for sale by its Dublin-based owner for more than $61 million. <\/p>\n

\u201cMai\u201d has received the royal treatment since being unpacked at the Getty late last month, as the museum\u2019s conservation team performs a technical study that includes capturing new imaging, and uncovering pigments and materials used by Reynolds. The team is also confirming any alterations that may have been made to the painting over the last 250 years. <\/p>\n

On a recent sunny Tuesday morning at the Getty \u2014 in a back room filled with other paintings, tucked into a corner of the hilltop museum \u2014 NPG\u2019s visiting conservator Sally Higgs joined the Getty\u2019s associate conservator of paintings, Kari Rayner, in an examination of the painting, which was first exhibited in 1776 at the Royal Academy in London.<\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Sally Higgs, painting conservation manager, from the National Portrait Gallery in London, right, and Kari Rayner, associate conservator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum, wear magnifying headbands called optivisors to help conduct their technical analysis of \u201cPortrait of Mai\u201d by Joshua Reynolds at the Getty.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The women peer closely at the canvas wearing headband magnifiers as they pass a small bright light across its surface in order to study the brushstrokes, paint and process Reynolds used to create the painting, which was made in the Grand Manner that defined the artist\u2019s work. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we do these types of studies, we end up with different questions than we originally asked,\u201d Rayner said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things about such a condensed study period that\u2019s been a little bit challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is an example of the interdisciplinary, cross-institutional work that happens all the time at the Getty, said Catherine Patterson, a scientist for the Getty Conservation Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to note that a huge amount of the work of gathering that data is what we\u2019re doing in this very intense period,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cUnderstanding what it means and what additional questions we have, it takes months.\u201d<\/p>\n

The art of conservation isn\u2019t about changing the subject matter or making a classical painting look new. It\u2019s about preserving the historical artifact in order to decipher the artist\u2018s intentions and better understand what went into the piece, without disturbing its originality. \u201cPortrait of Mai\u201d stands out for telling the story of the first Polynesian to visit Britain, and is a rare example of a Grand Manner painting done of a person of color. <\/p>\n

The artwork introduced tension between Indigenous traditions and Western conventions through the inclusion of Mai\u2019s robe, turban and hand tattoos. Upon his arrival in London, Mai became something of a celebrity among the aristocracy, and was welcomed by King George III. <\/p>\n

\"Sally <\/p>\n

A technical examination of the 250-year-old \u201cPortrait of Mai\u201d by Joshua Reynolds revealed that the canvas was in very good condition.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work for the art. It\u2019s not about us. We\u2019re here to serve the object,\u201d Patterson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do our job the best if nobody notices we\u2019ve done anything,\u201d Higgs said. \u201cYou\u2019ll often read articles about conservation or about art that has been conserved and the name of the conservator is never mentioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most telling details of the painting are revealed through technical analysis, using a number of scans and a conservator\u2019s favorite tool \u2014 the headband magnifiers known as optivisors. The journey of discovery began with a chemical image analysis to better understand the materials present.<\/p>\n

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy scans identified the chemical elements that make up the painting, including lead. Reflectance imaging spectroscopy was then used to measure how the materials interact with light. The scans revealed multiple layers of paint and reworked areas, including Mai\u2019s hand placement and head. <\/p>\n

The research also revealed that the pigments Reynolds used contained lead as well as vermilion, carbon black and one or more iron-earth pigments.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Reynolds] is notoriously someone that never is satisfied with what he\u2019s done,\u201d Higgs said. \u201cAnd you can really see that in this painting that he just can\u2019t stop \u2014 it\u2019s never finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Conservators <\/p>\n

Sally Higgs, painting conservation manager from the National Portrait Gallery in London, left, and Kari Rayner, associate conservator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum, stand beside \u201cPortrait of Mai\u201d by Joshua Reynolds at the Getty.<\/p>\n

(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Happily for the conservators, their work also showed that the painting doesn\u2019t require any kind of additional treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in very good condition, especially for a Reynolds,\u201d Rayner said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re now carrying out this technical study with the idea that, if and when treatment is needed in the future, it will help inform the treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work is ongoing. The next phase includes analyzing the binding media and examining the paint layer structure.<\/p>\n

The research is ultimately about preserving what the painting represents: a monumental encounter of cultures, said Davide Gasparotto, senior curator of paintings at the Getty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a painting, it\u2019s also an anthropological artifact,\u201d Gasparotto said. \u201cIt talks about this incredibly important moment of encounter of cultures, sometimes difficult, problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The painting will make its L.A. debut on Sept. 14 with a private Polynesian blessing ceremony where guests will experience the living cultural traditions of Tahiti through music, dance and food. <\/p>\n

After its welcoming party, \u201cPortrait of Mai\u201d will be displayed among other portraits owned by the Getty, including those by Thomas Gainsborough, Pompeo Batoni, Francisco Goya, as well as sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt and Francis Hardwood. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut [Mai] will have the place of honor,\u201d Gasparotto said.<\/p>\n

The painting will remain at the Getty through March 14, 2027, after which the Getty will close for renovations. The painting will then be transferred to the Getty Villa for about six months. It will again return to the Getty when it reopens, just in time for the 2028 L.A. Olympics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A nearly 8-foot canvas by the great 18th century English portrait painter Joshua Reynolds recently made the journey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,272413,272416,272414,272415,366,18,117,272411,19,17,67590,130,272412,13937,2577,12817,33859,5969,272417,80],"class_list":["post-643675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-associate-conservator","tag-catherine-patterson","tag-conservation-team","tag-davide-gasparotto","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-getty-debut","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-last-month","tag-london","tag-mai","tag-material","tag-painting","tag-portrait","tag-reynolds","tag-scan","tag-technical-study","tag-work"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117116878231600392","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}