Terms and conditions of use
Third day – The Imaginary Invalid, a comedy performed in the gardens of Versailles in front of the grotto
(Troisième journée – Le Malade Imaginaire, comédie représentée dans le jardin de Versailles devant la Grotte)
1676
plate 3 from Les Divertissemens de Versailles donnez par le Roy à toute sa cour au retour de la conqueste de la Franche-Comté en l’année 1674 (Festivities at Versailles given by the King to his court following the conquest of Franche-Comté in 1674) (1676)
Medium
etching and engraving
Measurements
27.2 × 41.0 cm (image) 30.0 × 41.6 cm (plate) 44.8 × 59.0 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Mr George Collins Levey, 1879
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This plate depicts a performance of Molière’s Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid). Staged outdoors on the third day of the 1674 festivities, The Imaginary Invalid was Molière’s final comedy-ballet. The playwright had died the previous year from pulmonary tuberculosis – ironically, just hours after performing the role of Argan, the titular hypochondriac protagonist.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Paris, France
Catalogue/s Raisonné
IFF 910 ii/ii
Edition
2nd of 2 states
Printing/Publishing
published by l’Imprimerie Royale, Paris
Inscription
printed in ink l.l.: le Pautre Sculps. 1676
printed in ink l.l.: Troisiéme Journée / Le Malade imaginaire, Comedie representée / dans le Jardin de Versailles devant la Grotte
printed in ink l.r.: Dies tertius / Dokesinoson, seu Aeger imaginarius,…
Accession Number
p.183.85-1
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest