David Garrick as Sir John Brute in Vanbrugh's 'The Provoked Wife'

Johann Zoffany painted David Garrick as Sir John Brute in Vanbrugh's 'The Provoked Wife' around 1764, one of his many theatrical portraits documenting Garrick's performances in specific roles at Drury Lane. Zoffany was the pre-eminent painter of theatrical subjects in Georgian Britain, his intimate knowledge of the stage giving his theatrical portraits an authenticity that distinguishes them from non-theatrical artists' attempts at the same subject. Sir John Brute — the violently drunk husband of Vanbrugh's comedy — was one of Garrick's celebrated comic roles, and Zoffany captures the specific quality of the performance rather than a generalized portrait of an actor in costume.

Zoffany captures Garrick's expressive acting style with meticulous attention to costume, gesture, and stage setting. The painting combines the precision of a portrait with the narrative energy of a genre scene, recording a specific theatrical moment with characteristic exactness.