An Italian family, in a poverty-stricken room, practise for opera. A young man stands full-face, singing, his fingers interlaced across his chest. He wears an open, ruffled shirt, awaistcoat, breeches, and ungartered stockings. To his right an old man plays an enormous 'cello. To his left a middle-aged man, seated in profile singing, plays a low harpsichord; he wears open ruffled shirt and breeches, with bare legs. Beside him on the extreme left a little boy dressed in a shirt plays the violin. On the extreme right a pretty young woman sits over the fire with an infant on her knee; she holds out a cloth to dry, looking over her shoulder to sing. Her score ('Affetuoso') is pinned to the chimney-piece, on which stands a crucifix with a tankard, &c. A lean greyhound howls up the chimney. All but the old man have fashionably dressed hair, and a certain elegance. The room is lit from an open casement window (left); there are dark cast shadows and the bare room has no ceiling. On the wall are a print of 'Vestris' dancing, a sword, a play-bill: 'l'Avaro Deluso' (opera by Paisiello, libretto by Vulpius), and a bunch of farthing dips; on the window ledge a cracked mirror, cocked hat, bottles, &c. Beneath the harpsichord is a large bowl labeled 'Macaroni'; and in the foreground lie a violin, music-books, earthenware pots, &c."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., 1 print : etching on laid paper, hand-colored ; sheet 35.8 x 46.1 cm., Sheet trimmed within plate mark resulting in loss of imprint., and Mounted on leaf 22 of volume 2 of 14 volumes.
Publisher:
Pubd. Decr. 1785 by S. Alken, No. 3 Dufours Place, Broad Street, Soho. Sold by W. Hinton, No. 5 Sweeting Alley, Cornhill
Subject (Name):
Vulpius, Christian August, 1762-1827, Paisiello, Giovanni, 1740-1816, and Vestris, Auguste, 1760-1842
Subject (Topic):
Children, Families, Italian, Mothers, Musical instruments, Musicians, and Singing
"Six English sitting round a table in the open air playing assorted instruments, a flute, harp, violin, cello and guitar, while the sixth sings."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title etched below image., Print was attributed to Louis Félix Legendre in the British Museum catalogue., Date from British Museum online catalogue., and Partial watermark along top edge.
"Boswell and two men in Highland dress dance a Highland fling on the summit of a low mountain, with the sea and a low spur of land on the horizon. Boswell, full-face, capers; his wig and pendant ink-pot with the pen in it, stream in the wind. He flourishes his 'Journal'; his left hand is in that of one of his companions (right); the other (left) dances a 'pas seul' looking at Boswell; both hold long sticks. A piper on the extreme left, standing just below the summit of the hill, plays the pipes."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Dance on Duncan
Description:
Title etched below image., One in a series of twenty plates by Rowlandson after S. Collings. See British Museum catalogue, v. 6, page 345., Plate from: Picturesque beauties of Boswell, Part the Second. [London] : [E. Jackson], [1786], Four lines of verse below title: "Old Mr. Malcolm McCleod who had obligingly promised to accompany me was at my bed-side between five & six, I sprang up immediately ..." Vide Journal p. 192., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., 1 print : etching on wove paper ; plate mark 26.2 x 26.2 cm, on sheet 27.9 x 31.1 cm., and Mounted on leaf 66 of volume 2 of 14 volumes.
Publisher:
Publish'd May 15th, 1786, by E. Jackson, No. 14 Mary-le-bone Street, Golden Square
Subject (Geographic):
Scotland. and Scottish.
Subject (Name):
Boswell, James, 1740-1795 and Boswell, James, 1740-1795.
"Boswell and two men in Highland dress dance a Highland fling on the summit of a low mountain, with the sea and a low spur of land on the horizon. Boswell, full-face, capers; his wig and pendant ink-pot with the pen in it, stream in the wind. He flourishes his 'Journal'; his left hand is in that of one of his companions (right); the other (left) dances a 'pas seul' looking at Boswell; both hold long sticks. A piper on the extreme left, standing just below the summit of the hill, plays the pipes."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Dance on Duncan
Description:
Title etched below image., One in a series of twenty plates by Rowlandson after S. Collings. See British Museum catalogue, v. 6, page 345., Plate from: Picturesque beauties of Boswell, Part the Second. [London] : [E. Jackson], [1786], Four lines of verse below title: "Old Mr. Malcolm McCleod who had obligingly promised to accompany me was at my bed-side between five & six, I sprang up immediately ..." Vide Journal p. 192., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., 1 print : etching on laid paper ; sheet 23.3 x 25.4 cm., Sheet trimmed within plate mark resulting in loss of imprint statement., and Mounted on leaf 66 of volume 2 of 14 volumes.
Publisher:
Publish'd May 15th, 1786, by E. Jackson, No. 14 Mary-le-bone Street, Golden Square
Subject (Geographic):
Scotland. and Scottish.
Subject (Name):
Boswell, James, 1740-1795 and Boswell, James, 1740-1795.
