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Riley, John
Riley, John (1646–91). English portrait painter. His early career is obscure, but he emerged as the most distinguished figure in English portraiture in the brief interval between the death of Lely in 1680 and the dominance of Kneller. Although he was appointed principal painter to William III and Mary II jointly with Kneller in 1688, his finest works are not court portraits but depictions of sitters from humble callings; the two best known are The Scullion (Christ Church, Oxford) and Bridget Holmes (1686, Royal Coll.), a full-length portrayal of a nonagenarian royal housemaid who brandishes her broom at a mischievous pageboy. Riley was generally more successful painting men than women (he was no rival to Lely in depicting fine clothes and soft complexions) and his unassuming sincerity of presentation exemplifies a typically English approach to portraiture that he passed on to his pupil Jonathan Richardson the Elder.
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Cite this article
IAN CHILVERS. "Riley, John." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "Riley, John." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-RileyJohn.html IAN CHILVERS. "Riley, John." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-RileyJohn.html |
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