Webber or de Loutherbourg? New observations regarding drawings for the 1785 pantomime Omai, or, A Trip round the World

Tuhinga 30: 29-55

ABSTRACT: In 1979, Rüdiger Joppien published a detailed study of the 1785 pantomime Omai, or, A Trip round the World. This included analysis of the surviving drawings for costumes and props, in which Joppien grappled with the question of attribution to either Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg or John Webber. While revisiting Joppien’s thoughts on attribution, and his observations on stylistic differences in particular, this article focuses on new evidence concerning aspects of the drawings that have not previously been discussed. This includes a contemporary depiction of one of the actors apparently in costume, the watermarks in the sheets and the inscriptions found on the drawings. A close analysis of the latter suggests the complex working relationship between the two artists, the exact nature of which remains undeciphered at this time. Finally, a new provenance for the majority of the drawings is proposed in place of that put forward by Rüdiger Joppien and Bernard Smith in their 1985–87 survey of works of art connected to Captain Cook’s voyages.

KEYWORDS: Omai, Mai, Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, John Webber, James Cook, Pacific Ocean, pantomime, costume, eighteenth-century theatre, Convent Garden.