The Merry Wives of
Windsor
Wonderful depiction of the scene in which the
wives compare their letters.
Texts below images:
Merry Wives of Windsor
Act II, Scene I
Painted by the Revd Wm. Peters, Engraved by
Rob Thew. Published December 24, 1793 by John
and Josiah Boydell at the Shakespeare Gallery
Pall Mall, Cheapside, London
"Mrs. Ford: Why this is the very same;
the very hand, the very words: What doth he
think of us?
Mrs. Page: Nay, I known not. It makes me
almost ready to wrangle with mine own honesty."
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery
These fine 18th century prints come from the
"Shakespeare Gallery" created
by the London publishers John and Josiah Boydell
who conceived the idea of "a fine Edition
of Shakespeare" comparable to the rival
the elegant volumes with which the French celebrated
their great writers which would be richlly illustrated
with works by the great artists of the period.
As part of the plan, they also decided to create
a "Shakespeare Gallery" and to commission
distinguished artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds,
George Rommy, and Benjamin West to do a series
of oils depicting scenes and caracters from
the plays. The paintings would be exhibited
in the Gallery and serve as the basis for two
series of prints. The large prints were published
as part of an imperial foilo album without text.
These large format engravings ere apparently
part of that group. A seperate set of smaller
engravings were made to accompany the text.
The Shakespeare Gallery, housed in its own building
at Pall Mall, became on of the main tourist
attractions for visitors to London at the end
of the eighteenth century.
Source:
Article about the Boydell Shakespeare Library
by Frederick Burwick
Burwick's article makes apparent reference
to this specific engraving: "Reverend
Peters, too, is exhibiting his skills at portraiture
when he depicts Mistress Page and Mistress Ford
discovering they have received identical letters
(Cat. I:11. Merry Wives of Windsor. II.i. Peters/Thew),
or Hero and Ursula whispering while Beatrice
eavesdrops (Cat. I:16. Much Ado About Nothing.
III.i. Rev. Peters/Jean Pierre Simon). Peter's
mastery of portraiture serve him well in rendering
character and expression, and with his trompe
l'oeil skill in conjuring the very weave and
fold of the ladies' dresses, he displays his
academic mastery. To the extent that dramatic
action can be effectively carried by the presence
of character and by pose, gesture, and expression,
Peter's portraiture is adequate to the task."
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