David Garrick is a comic play written in 1864 by Thomas William Robertson about the famous 18th-century actor and theatre manager, David Garrick. While the plots are virtually identical, the tone of the novelisation is much more sentimental and somber. [7] The print was copied and pirated, producing at least fourteen different mezzotints. Ingot contrives to meet with Garrick and initially tries to persuade him to leave the country or give up acting, but when Garrick learns the reason, he assures Ingot that he will be able to cure Ada of her attraction and asks Ingot to arrange a meeting with her. He then suggests that Ada and Garrick could have been prevented from marrying by death, break-up or other external factors, and thus his story would not be contradictory to history. Ada then awakens, the last thing she heard being that she was disowned. If you do not leave, the servants shall turn you out. I am going. Farewell! [6], Edward Fisher created a mezzotint for the painting in 1762 before he exhibited it in May 1762[7] at the Society of Artists in 1762 as Mr. Garrick, between two muses of tragedy and comedy. (442 mm x 553 mm) paper size Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966 Reference Collection NPG D34376 GARRICK (turns fiercely and SMITH runs down L. C., front). He convinces her that her father loves her and that she should listen to him. It represents Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy. All contributions are moderated. Comedy is framed by a field and sky as she pulls on Garrick's arm. It is regarded as one of Reynolds's most studied and well-known paintings, and is now in the collection of Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire.[1]. When he leaves, Ada is crushed, but she agrees to go through with the marriage her father intends for her. We'll need your email address so that we can follow up on the information provided and contact you to let you know when your contribution has been published. He spends the evening antagonizing the other guests and pretending to be a drunk and a gambler. Not long after they leave, Ingot arrives and finds Ada. [4]:286–7 The painting shows Reynolds moving away from strict portraiture, symbolized by Tragedy, to more witty iconography, symbolized by Comedy. (releases SMITH, and goes up C., a little. "You common cry of curs, whose breath I hate, As reek o' the rotten fens, whose loves I prize. David Garrick ('Garrick between Comedy and Tragedy'), by Edward Fisher, after Sir Joshua Reynoldsmezzotint printed in colours, (1760-1761)17 3/8 in. David Garrick (1717-1779) was the most famous English actor of the eighteenth century. David Garrick. "Sir Charles Wyndham: A Biography" by T. Edgar Pemberton, Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Garrick_(play)&oldid=978795903, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 September 2020, at 00:19.

In the introduction to the 2009 reprint, it is speculated that the "less farcical tone" may have more closely resembled Robertson's early drafts of the play, before Sothern's contributions.[9]. [8] However, in the 1865 printing in book form, Robertson says in his preface that it was the other way around, and his novel was adapted from his play. A young woman, Ada, has developed a crush on the actor David Garrick so strong that she refuses to accept a marriage arranged by her father, Mr. Ingot. x 21 3/4 in. According to several sources,[6][7] Robertson originally fashioned the story as a novel, David Garrick: A Love Story, which was first printed in 1864 as a serial in the magazine The Young Englishwoman. Chivy has followed her, and she hides from him. Another German play, Garrick in Bristol, added to the confusion.[5]. Ada is so upset by the news that she faints. Choose your favourite portrait from our Collection as a framed or unframed print for your home. It is regarded as one of Reynolds's most studied and well-known paintings, and is now in the collection of Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. [4]:287, Garrick's 1775 play The Theatrical Candidates alludes to the painting when the two main characters Tragedy and Comedy enter into a dispute, and the character Harlequin interjects and argues the audience prefers him over both of them. He says he will disown her because of how she has misbehaved. He sat on it for many years, then eventually showed it to Sothern, who took interest in the project. [2]:262 The painting had a mixed reception when it was first published, with some arguing it showed Reynolds' painting skills, while others disagreed. The side of Garrick's face towards Comedy is smiling and illuminated, while other side is in shadows as he looks worriedly at Tragedy. David's grandfather, David de la Garrique, was a Huguenot who fled France in 1685, and David's father Peter was brought to England in 1687. Lord Halifax has given him £300 for it!
Robertson's story of Garrick has very little to do with fact: among other things, it ends with Garrick presumably married to a woman named Ada Ingot—Garrick's real wife was Eva Marie Veigel. Robertson was quoted as saying, in response to critics of this historical inaccuracy, "The real, actual Mr. David Garrick was not married until the year 1749. (points to ARAMINTA'S shaking head and fan). Chivy does not recognise that the story is about Ada and her father, though they both recognise themselves, and Ada is cheered by the news. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. (442 mm x 553 mm) paper sizePurchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966Reference CollectionNPG D34376.

Get me out of this, I can't bear it longer. The story is, according to the title page of most printed versions, "Adapted from the French of Sullivan, which was founded on a German Dramatization of a pretended Incident in Garrick's Life." If you wish to license this image, please use our Rights and Images service. One of the play's defining moments is the point when Garrick's feigned drunkenness appears to work, and Ada forces him to leave the party. Reportedly, as Sothern read the play aloud to his manager John Buckstone –, [Sothern] frequently interrupted himself with such remarks as "Capital" "First-rate!" If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. Can you tell us more about this portrait? Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. x 21 3/4 in. There are occasions when we are unsure of the identity of a sitter or artist, their life dates, occupation or have not recorded their family relationships.

[4]:294 Comedy has slightly tousled fair hair, resembling the bacchante drawn by Peter Paul Rubens. "[3], After some revisions at Sothern's request, Robertson was able to sell the play for a sum of £10.[4]. "Yes, it will do," replied Buckstone, "and I rather like that fellow Chevy [sic]. Despising, for you, the City, thus I turn my back: There is a world elsewhere." If they inspire you please support our work. Many of the character's names were altered from the play. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled. [5]:143–4 One of these prints, which was sold in France in 1765, had the inscription L'Homme entre le Vice et la Vertu. A 1923 book, Public Speaking Today, recommends it for performance by high school students alongside The Importance of Being Earnest and The Rivals. Switchboard: +44 (0) 20 7306 0055, You must have Javascript enabled to view zooming images, We are currently closed until spring 2023, while essential building works take place, Late Eighteenth Century Prints and Drawings, Only Connect - David Garrick <> Karl Abel, The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons, Self-Portrait: Renaissance to Contemporary. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, "This 18th-century painting looks like the Distracted Boyfriend meme", "The 'Distracted Boyfriend' Meme Has An 18th Century Version That People Are Going Wild For On Twitter", "Mongrel Forms: Tragedy, Comedy, and Mixed Genres in Britain, 1680–1760", Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Garrick_Between_Tragedy_and_Comedy&oldid=963416128, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 June 2020, at 17:54. [2], The play was evidently written in 1856, after Robertson saw a French theatre troupe performing Sullivan; but the new play was rejected by every theatre manager Robertson took it to. [5]:140 The historian David Mannings has suggested that the painting's composition was inspired by Guido Reni's Lot and his Daughters Leaving Sodom. Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know?
Her fiancé Richard Chivy arrives, actually as drunk as Garrick was just pretending to be, and he tells the Ingots about how he just met David Garrick at his club and listened to him tell a story of how he had spent an evening pretending to be a scoundrel so as to cure a girl of her attraction to him. Several silent films were made based on David Garrick, including versions in 1913 (starring Seymour Hicks and Ellaline Terriss), 1914 and 1916. [4]:296, Art historians often compare the painting to a scene in Greek mythology in which the god Hercules has to choose between Virtue and Pleasure.

The play was Robertson's first major commercial success and was frequently revived throughout the Victorian era and beyond. "I think that will do, Bucky?"

The play premiered at the Prince of Wales Theater in Birmingham, where it was successful enough to be moved to the Haymarket Theatre in London, on 30 April 1864. While much of the humour was removed in the novelisation, a great deal of exposition was added, and the story actually begins on the day Garrick and Ada first meet. Please could you let us know your source of information. Reynolds' painting parodied this scene in that, whereas Hercules ultimately chooses the more modestly dressed Virtue, Garrick starts to succumb to the more immodestly dressed muse of Comedy. She wears washed-out mauve clothing. Garrick is invited to a dinner party at Ingot's house, where he is stunned and horrified to realise that Ada is the very girl he had been admiring from afar, but because of his promise, he goes through with his plan. Please Like other favourites! Ingot tries to tell her he didn't mean it, but when he sees she has fainted unconscious he goes to get help. he said to his manager. Farewell, and treasure deep that which I love the most yet leave behind. [5]:138 Comedy is in dappled light, while Tragedy is strongly lit from above, with a dark background. Whatever adventures may have occurred to him before that time are a legitimate theme for speculation." A scene from the play was painted by Edward Matthew Ward, a friend of Sothern's. If you tick permission to publish your name will appear above your contribution on our website. Your contributions must be polite and with no intention of causing trouble. [5]:138 He appears conflicted and hesitates between them,[4]:283 starting to transform from a tragic playwright into a comedian.