Gainsborough and the Theatre

This book explores Thomas Gainsborough's relationship with the theatrical world and the most celebrated stage artists of his day, featuring notable portraits of actors, dancers, and composers. It also examines parallels between his painterly naturalism and the theatrical naturalism of David Garrick and Mrs. Siddons.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 20 September 2018
Publisher: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd

Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88) was deeply connected with the theatrical world, and this book brings together a collection of works from public and private collections to explore his relationship with the most celebrated stage artists of his day. Gainsborough's personal friendships with James Quin, David Garrick, and Sarah Siddons, the most renowned actors of the eighteenth century, played a significant role in his connection to the stage. He painted notable portraits of these and twenty others, including dramatists, dancers, and composers. Shortly after moving from Bath to London in 1774, Gainsborough's friends Richard Brinsley and Thomas Linley took over the management of the Drury Lane theatre, which was undergoing regular refurbishment to incorporate technical innovations in lighting and stage machinery. At the King's Theatre in Haymarket in 1778, Gainsborough painted frontispiece figures emblematic of Music and Dancing, which were painted in monochrome. This publication firmly establishes Gainsborough's place within the theatrical worlds of Bath and London and sheds light on why the art of ballet, and in particular Gainsborough's sitters Gaetan Vestris, Auguste Vestris, and Giovanna Baccelli, rose to prominence in 1780. It also examines parallels between Gainsborough's painterly naturalism and the theatrical naturalism of David Garrick and Mrs Siddons, with whom he had personal friendships.

Weight: 576g
Dimension: 218 x 274 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781781300664