Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse them look like actual sculptures in the fashion they were usually depicted in the classical style. Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse is a 1784 oil painting by Joshua Reynolds. Mrs. Sarah Siddons: Sarah Siddons was a well-known actress of the 18th century who became famous for her role as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Born Sarah Kemble, aged 18 she married William Siddons, also an actor, and they had seven children of who only two survived. Sarah's parents sent her to work as a lady's maid and with this job she was exposed to the
Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse instantly identify it with Siddons' most famous acting role - Lady Macbeth. Color Palette: Reynolds uses elements of black and bright orange highlighting through the whole image to accentuate the sitter as the two figures, their facades painted in sweeping shadows, look to blend in with the brown, tempestuous background. The flesh tone is achieved with various layering of whites over carmine and lake madder, with ultramarine and darker blue mixes Siddon's neck and skin in the shadow. Hints of grey are also present for the more prominent shadow areas. Her dress is swathed in an array of delicately mixed