A Rare Reverse Glass 'She Stoops to Conquer' Painting Circa 1800
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A RARE REVERSE GLASS 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER' PAINTING Circa 1800 34cm (13 3/8in) long. Footnotes: 約一八零零年 玻璃鏡畫 Provenance: John Sparks Ltd., London, acquired in the 1980s (by repute) Jeremy Mason, London This charming rendering illustrates a scene from Oliver Goldsmith's second play, She Stoops to Conquer, which debuted at the Covent Garden Theatre on 15th March 1773. The narrative was based on an embarrassing anecdote from Goldsmith's own student days in Ireland, when he was tricked into believing the local squire's house was an inn and brashly ordered dinner and a night's lodging. In the play, Tony Lumpkin, represented by the actor John Quick (1748-1831), a youth from the wealthy Hardcastle family, dupes two travellers named Marlow and Hastings into believing his home to be a public house. The title She Stoops to Conquer refers to Tony's sister Kate Hardcastle represented here by the actor Jane Green (née Hippisley) (1719-1791), who, as part of the scheme, pretends to be the barmaid in order to win the hero Marlow, who has a fear of upper-class ladies. He is seen beside Mr Hardcastle, played by Edward Shuter (1728?-1776), pleading with him not to be angry at the news that Tony was complicit in his joke. The reverse glass painting appears to be taken from a mezzotint engraving published in 1776. This in turn was taken from an original painting was sold by Christie's New York, 28 January 2009, set 285.
