Johan Joseph Zoffany, 1733–1810, German, active in Britain (from 1760)
Title:
Edward Shuter, John Beard, and John Dunstall in Isaac Bickerton's "Love in a Village"
Date:
1767
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
51 1/4 x 65 inches (130.2 x 165.1 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1985.19.6
Gallery Label:
Johan Zoffany, a German émigré, revivified the conversation piece in the 1760s and, with the backing of David Garrick, almost single-handedly popularized the theatrical picture. Staged by the Covent Garden Theatre company, Love in a Village was a popular English ballad opera in the tradition of The Beggar’s Opera. In this scene, Edward Shuter plays Woodcock, a pompous local magistrate (with his pretentious painting of the Judgment of Solomon), and is contrasted to a bluff countryman named Hawthorn, played by John Beard. Shuter began his career as a protégé of David Garrick and was best known for his comic roles. Before joining the Covent Garden company in 1759, Beard was the celebrated tenor who performed the music of George Frideric Handel. Beard retired from the stage in 1767, the year Zoffany exhibited this picture with the Society of Artists of Great Britain. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
