Deschars as Pulchinella in the divertissement of Villeneuve Saint-Georges. Engraving by Bérain.

From a balustraded terrace set with a plinth topped with urn and bush, steps lead down into a garden of high formal hedges beyond which are trees. On the terrace stands a male figure in profile, stepping from his right to his left foot, his right arm to the side, his left hand protruding beyond the padded stomach. His face is covered with a grotesque mask, with 'spectacle' eyes, a hooked nose, pointed protruding chin and long drooping moustache. The figure wears a soft broad-crowned hat with brim turned up proper left with feathers held in a jewel mount. Around the neck is a ruff and the grotesquely shaped body is covered with a jacket belted below the belly, fastened with large round ball buttons; from the shoulders hangs a waist-length collared cape. To top thigh are loose 'trunk-hose', with straight trousers reaching to mid-calf. Front opening, cape, hose and trousers are decorated with braid forming rows of triangles, each topped with a small 'button'. The ankle-shoes fasten with small bows.

Given by Dame Marie Rambert

The commedia dell'arte came to England when Charles II was restored to the English throne in 1660. The performers improvised around a number of stock characters, of which Polichinel, thug, wifebeater, thief and murderer, became the most popular in many countries. In France, he became Polichinelle or Pulcinella, in Germany Hanswurst, in Austria Kasperle, in Russia Petrushka, in Turkey Karagoz and in England, Mr. Punch. Pulcino in Italian means a day-old chick, and the figure's pose hints at the hen-like way in which the character moved.
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.

Polchinel is a character in the commedia dell'arte which developed in Italy and became very popular in France in the 18th century; it arrived in England when Charles II was restored to the English throne in 1660.
The performers improvised around a number of stock characters, of which Polichinel, thug, wifebeater, thief and murderer, became the most popular in many countries. In France, he became Polichinelle or Pulcinella, in Germany Hanswurst, in Austria Kasperle, in Russia Petrushka, in Turkey Karagoz and in England, Mr. Punch. Pulcino in Italian means a day-old chick, and the figure's pose hints at the hen-like way in which the character moved.

Printed as: À Paris chez J Mariette Rue St Jaques aux Collonnes d'Hercules avec Privilege du Roy

As might be guessed from the nose, chin and pot belly, this character is the ancestor of Britain's Mr Punch. Punch began as Polchinel, a character in an Italian entertainment called the commedia dell'arte which became very popular in France in the 18th century; they came to England when Charles II was restored to the English throne in 1660. The performers improvised around a number of stock characters, of which Polichinel, thug, wifebeater, thief and murderer, became the most popular in many countries. In France, he became Polichinelle or Pulcinella, in Germany Hanswurst, in Austria Kasperle, in Russia Petrushka, in Turkey Karagoz and in England, Mr. Punch. Pulcino in Italian means a day-old chick, and the figure's pose hints at the hen-like way in which the character moved.

E.4959-1968