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Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)

painting by Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ119009609 ↗
Source-derived summary

Portrait of David Garrick is a 1764 portrait painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Batoni. It depicts the British stage actor David Garrick. It was produced in Rome during Garrick's visit to Italy from 1763 to 1765. Garrick is shown with a book featuring the Ancient Roman author Terence's Comedies. The painting was commissioned by Garrick for Richard Kaye to give in exchange for an ancient gem that Kaye had acquired at the Baths of Caracalla. It took twelve lengthy sittings by Garrick with Batoni, the most celebrated portraitist in Rome who was known for his depictions of visiting British Grand Tourists. Today it is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, having been transferred from the Bodleian Library in 1845.

References

Bibliography

Bowron, Edgar Peters & Kerber, Peter Björn. Pompeo Batoni: Prince of Painters in Eighteenth-century Rome. Yale University Press, 2007.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)” as painting by Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Portrait, David and Garrick.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1764, 1763, 1765, 1845—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1764-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Portrait, David and Garrick providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)”, the useful work is to connect “painting by Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q119009609. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1764, 1763, 1765 and 1845.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni) primary sources, Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni) archive and Portrait research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Portrait of David Garrick (Batoni)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.