Evaristo Gherardi as Arlequin. Engraving late 17th century

On a stage against a setting of shrubs and background trees, with part of a fountain to his right and a classical plinth supporting ball to his left, stands a male figure, stepping on tiptoe from his right foot onto his left, the body facing right, the head looking back over his left shoulder. He wears a small brimmed hat, turned back at front with a central small feather; the face appears half-masked. The long, buttoned jacket is pouched at the back over the low belted waistline and appears padded over the stomach at the front, and the long sleeves extend over the hand; the neck is bound with a plaited rouleau. The ankle-length trousers are buttoned to the back and the shoes are open down the front. The whole costume and ankles are decorated with a 'grid' each rectangle with an X cross from corner to corner.

Given by Dame Marie Rambert

The print is part of the collection of dance prints amassed by Marie Rambert and her husband, Ashley Dukes in the first half of the 20th century. Eventually numbering 145 items, some of which had belonged to the ballerina Anna Pavlova, it was one of the first and most important specialist collections in private hands.
Rambert bought the first print as a wedding present but could not bear to give it away. As the collection grew, it was displayed in the bar of the Mercury Theatre, the headquarters of Ballet Rambert, but in 1968, Rambert gave the collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum; seven duplicates were returned to Rambert, but these are catalogued in Ivor Guest's A Gallery of Romantic Ballet, which was published before the collection came to the V&A. Although often referred to as a collection of Romantic Ballet prints, there are also important engravings of 17th and 18th century performers, as well as lithographs from the later 19th century, by which time the great days of the ballet in London and Paris were over.

The character of Harlequin with his multicoloured lozenge costume comes from a character of the commedia dell'arte, which was brought to France in the 17th century by the Italian comedians. Then his coat was covered with multicoloured radom patches, but over the years these became 'organized' into various diamond patterns. The original Harlequin may have been performed in a dark mask which changed into a black half-mask.
Commedia dell'arte (literally 'artistic comedy') developed in 16th century Italy. A company consisted of about ten actors, each of whom developed a specific type of character and comic business, such as a swaggering Captain, old men like Pantaloon or the Doctor, a simple clown and young lovers. The performance was improvised around these stock characters and a pre-agreed plot. The troups spread into France and came to England in the mid 17th century; stock characters like Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon and Clown developed into the English Harlequinade, while Pulcinella, developed into Mr Punch.

Printed as: A Paris chez J. Mariette rue S. Jacques aux colonnes dHercules

The character of Harlequin with his multicoloured lozenge costume comes from a character of the commedia dell'arte, which was brought to France in the 17th century by the Italian comedians. Then his coat was covered with multicoloured radom patches, but over the years these became 'organized' into various diamond patterns. The original Harlequin may have been performed in a dark mask which changed into a black half-mask.
Commedia dell'arte (literally 'artistic comedy') developed in 16th century Italy. A company consisted of about ten actors, each of whom developed a specific type of character and comic business, such as a swaggering Captain, old men like Pantaloon or the Doctor, a simple clown and young lovers. The performance was improvised around these stock characters and a pre-agreed plot. The troupes spread into France and came to England in the mid 17th century; stock characters like Harlequin

E.4951-1968