Two years ago, Sir Joshua Reynolds’ portrait exhibition was one of our Friday Favorites. This year, the good folks at What Jane Saw (brought to you by the University of Texas) are back at it, expanding the virtual art tour to include an exhibit of paintings devoted to Shakespeare’s works.
“You are invited to time travel to two art exhibitions witnessed by Jane Austen: the Sir Joshua Reynolds retrospective in 1813 or the Shakespeare Gallery as it looked in 1796. These two Georgian blockbusters took place, years apart, in the same London exhibition space at 52 Pall Mall (it no longer exists). When Austen visited in 1813, the building housed the British Institution, an organization promoting native artists. On her earlier London visit in 1796, it was the first-ever museum dedicated to William Shakespeare.”
As with the Reynolds exhibit, a menu bar runs across the top of the window allowing you to brows paintings by catalog number or placement withing the building. Clicking on a painting opens up a dialog box with a ton of information about the piece.
