Set design by Philip James de Loutherbourg for Act V Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play Richard III, possibly for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, 30 May 1772.

This sketch – one of three in the V&A’s collection – is inscribed as having been made by Philippe Jacques (known as Philip James) de Loutherbourg (1740–1812) for David Garrick’s production of Richard III, and later given to actor-manager Henry Irving in 1874 by ‘his old friend CR’ (most probably the author Charles Reade). They represent the initial stage in producing a scenic model.

When de Loutherbourg came to London in 1771 he was already a French Academician and painter to the French King. He had asked the Director of the Opéra-Comique in Paris to write him a letter of introduction to the great actor David Garrick (1717–1779): ‘Mr de Loutherbourg,’ it reads, ‘one of our greatest painters and a very agreeable man, intends for his pleasure to make an excursion to London . . . I advise you strongly to let him paint three small pictures for you, one a sea piece, another a landscape . . . and thirdly a battle scene. He is delightful in all three genres.’ Garrick initially employed de Loutherbourg to design the set for a pantomime, The Pigmy Revels, at Drury Lane Theatre. This proved a great success and de Loutherbourg received a permanent contract for the considerable salary of £500 per year.

Garrick was closely associated with the role of Richard III, in which he had triumphed at his first London appearance in 1741. The play stayed in his repertoire and was last performed by him in 1775, one year before his retirement. The three sketches relate to Act V of the play. In the first, prior to the battle, there are orderly rows of tents and a trestle bridge. The second – shown here – depicts the field after the battle, with an overturned wagon in the foreground. and an arched bridge in the background. The rows of tents can be seen in the far distance. The third sketch is more generalised, without either bridge or tents, showing the battlefield strewn with broken cart wheels, a discarded drum and an abandoned treasure chest. The bridges are ‘practical’, over which soldiers could march, reflecting contemporary stage practice.

After Garrick’s retirement from management, de Loutherbourg continued at Drury Lane under the management of Sheridan, but resigned in 1781 when threatened with a reduction in salary. His final theatre production was at the Covent Garden Theatre in 1785: the spectacularly successful Omai, or, a Trip Round the World, based on Captain Cook’s South Sea voyages.