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
"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.
