David Garrick was one of the greatest English actors. Success brought him not only his remarkable talent, but also his ability to advertise himself. In particular, he managed to persuade the most famous artists to write portraits from themselves – both in various roles and in life.
The engravings made on these paintings were at the same time in demand than postcards and posters with movie stars – in our days. Garrick wrote Pompeo Batoni, Thomas Gaines-borough, Angelika Kaufman, Francis Heyman, William Hogarth and, of course, the hero of our release.
And Reynolds, being a close friend of Garrick, asked him to pose for him repeatedly. Here is a portrait that is considered the most successful. The composition of the picture obviously echoes the popular plot “The Choice of Hercules”, which has been exploited by many artists since the Renaissance.
The hero in the works written on this story makes a painful choice between the Vice and the Virtue. As the reader probably knows, Hercules chose Virtue. Reynolds, taking advantage of the classic “scheme”, enters into it completely different characters. Instead of vice, comedy appears before us, instead of virtue, tragedy. And Garrick, without further ado, chooses the first.
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