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STUART SILLARS
University of Bergen
Abstract
An exploration of the ways
in which the character of Othello was presented in visual
form, both performance and illustration, during the
eighteenth century, in terms of the approaches to ethnicity
and social rank that they reveal. It begins with the
illustration by François Boitard for the edition of Nicholas
Rowe, moving through images by Francis Hayman and Phillip
James de Loutherbourg. Later images are discussed in
comparison with visits by a group of Iroquois dignitaries,
in which they themselves become performers in various social
settings, and that of the Tahitian Omai, in particular the
portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the pantomime based on his
visit, and visual presentations of him as a figure of high
rank as well as a representative of a different race.
Keywords: François
Boitard, class, ethnicity; Hubert Gravelot, Thomas Hanmer,
Francis Hayman, illustration, Iroquois, Philip James de
Loutherbourg, Omai, Othello, performance, rank,
Joshua Reynolds, Nicholas Rowe, Thomas Rymer, William
Shakespeare |
