Not currently on display at the V&A

Donato

Print
mid nineteenth century (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hand-coloured print of the mid-nineteenth-century Spanish dancer Donato, whose international fame grew after his right leg had been amputated. Accounts give different causes for the amputation; injury during a campaign in Morocco or being gored in the thigh when he took part in a bull fight. He danced at Covent Garden to great acclaim during the Alfred Mellon concerts in the winter of 1864-65. His act lasted for about ten minutes finishing with a ‘series of rapid evolutions’ accompanying himself with castanets.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDonato (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand coloured print on paper
Brief description
Hand coloured print depicting the dancer Señor Donato performing his famous 'cloak dance,' mid nineteenth century
Physical description
Hand coloured print depicting the dancer Señor Donato performing his famous 'cloak dance.' The print features an image of Donato dressed in a close fitting scarlet jacket and blue knee breeches, he is wearing a matching red slipper on his single leg. He is shown in the midst of the performance, his right arm upraised and his left stretched out behind him. He is holding up the cloak which he used as part of his performance.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26cm (approximately) (Note: The measurements given are for the print itself, rather than the cream sugar paper on which the print is mounted.)
  • Width: 20.7cm (approximately)
Credit line
Gabrielle Enthoven Collection
Object history
Acquired for the Enthoven Collection from Alec Clunes Bookshops, along with two collections of 19th century playbills and assorted theatrical engravings, pamphlets and caricatures (RF1959/1915; Nominal file: MA/1/C1837).
Subject depicted
Summary
Hand-coloured print of the mid-nineteenth-century Spanish dancer Donato, whose international fame grew after his right leg had been amputated. Accounts give different causes for the amputation; injury during a campaign in Morocco or being gored in the thigh when he took part in a bull fight. He danced at Covent Garden to great acclaim during the Alfred Mellon concerts in the winter of 1864-65. His act lasted for about ten minutes finishing with a ‘series of rapid evolutions’ accompanying himself with castanets.
Other number
Collection
Accession number
S.1253-2015

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Record createdJuly 24, 2015
Record URL
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