George Romney was a fashionable portrait painter of late 18th-century English society. In his portraits Romney avoided delving into the character or sensibilities of the sitter. His great success with his society patrons depended largely on just this ability for dispassionate flattery. Line rather than color dominates; the flowing rhythms and easy poses of Roman classical sculpture underlie the smooth patterns of his compositions. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures – including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson. Romney was by nature sensitive and introspective. He held himself aloof from the Royal Academy and his fellow artists, making his friends in philosophical and literary circles. About 1781–82 he met Emma Hart (later Lady Hamilton), who fascinated him. For Romney she became a means of escape into an imaginary, ideal world. He painted his “divine Emma” more than 50 times, in guises ranging from a bacchante to Joan of Arc.