Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–8 public

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue–Wed Closed
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

Dilettanti-Theatricals

A work made of hand-colored etching and aquatint on paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of hand-colored etching and aquatint on paper.

Date:

published February 18, 1803

Artist:

James Gillray (English, 1756-1815)
published by Hannah Humphrey (English, c. 1745-1818)

About this artwork

While ancient theater has continued to inspire the modern world, satirist James Gillray leaves little doubt as to the caliber of the performers seen here. The Muses of theater, Thalia and Melpomene, are invoked on panels of the dressing room screen along with Cecilia, the patron saint of music, the composer George Frideric Handel, the playwright William Shakespeare, and the actor David Garrick. The fierce Melpomene indeed looks rather like Lady Macbeth, with a dagger and a chalice raised above her head as if to pounce on the amateur theatricals trilling and carousing below.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

James Gillray

Title

Dilettanti-Theatricals

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Published 1803

Medium

Hand-colored etching and aquatint on paper

Dimensions

Image: 30 × 48.5 cm (11 13/16 × 19 1/8 in.); Plate: 31.5 × 49.2 cm (12 7/16 × 19 3/8 in.); Sheet: 35.5 × 54 cm (14 × 21 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Thomas F. Furness in memory of William McCallin McKee

Reference Number

1928.1360

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/90001/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms