H Beard Print Collection
Print
1791 (printed)
1791 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This caricature shows a ballet at the Pantheon Opera House called Amphion et Thalie,choreographed by Charles Dauberval in 1791. Charles Didelot and Mlle Theodore are the dancers, and their generation is the first which no longer wears the bulky restrictive costumes of past years. Their freedom of movement is evident when compared with a ballet of 30 years before.
Dauberval was a dancer who then took over the running of the Pantheon theatre and also the choreography of its ballets. Dauberval had been a pupil of Jean Georges Noverre who believed that dancers should express their feelings through movement, gesture and facial expression. Dauberval wrote 'I do not want just to please the eyes, I must interest the heart'. One of the ballets for which he is best known is the first ever version of La Fille Mal Gardée,although his original choreography has not survived.
Dauberval was a dancer who then took over the running of the Pantheon theatre and also the choreography of its ballets. Dauberval had been a pupil of Jean Georges Noverre who believed that dancers should express their feelings through movement, gesture and facial expression. Dauberval wrote 'I do not want just to please the eyes, I must interest the heart'. One of the ballets for which he is best known is the first ever version of La Fille Mal Gardée,although his original choreography has not survived.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | H Beard Print Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | hand-coloured etching, ink on paper |
| Brief description | Etching entitled 'The Prospect Before Us' depicting Charles Didelot and Mme Theodore in the ballet Amphion et Thalie at the Pantheon Opera House. |
| Physical description | Coloured print entitled 'The Prospect Before Us' with two Georgian-era dancers on stage in front of a full house. The left dancer, male is seen from behind and the right, female, from the front. She wears a lavishly feathered hat and flowing dress. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Cartoon of The Prospect Before Us
1791
This cartoon, which inspired Ninette de Valois’ 1940 ballet, shows Charles-Louis Didelot and Mlle Théodore in Jean Dauberval’s pantomimic ballet, Amphion and Thalia, at the Pantheon, London, 1791. The cartoon refers to the rivalry between the theatrical managers of the Pantheon and King’s Theatre, both of whose theatres were burnt when they wooed the popular French dancers to their stages.
Hand-coloured etching
By Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827)
Harry R. Beard Collection, given by Isobel Beard
Museum no. S.34-2008 |
| Credit line | Harry R. Beard Collection, given by Isobel Beard |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Amphion et Thalie |
| Summary | This caricature shows a ballet at the Pantheon Opera House called Amphion et Thalie,choreographed by Charles Dauberval in 1791. Charles Didelot and Mlle Theodore are the dancers, and their generation is the first which no longer wears the bulky restrictive costumes of past years. Their freedom of movement is evident when compared with a ballet of 30 years before. Dauberval was a dancer who then took over the running of the Pantheon theatre and also the choreography of its ballets. Dauberval had been a pupil of Jean Georges Noverre who believed that dancers should express their feelings through movement, gesture and facial expression. Dauberval wrote 'I do not want just to please the eyes, I must interest the heart'. One of the ballets for which he is best known is the first ever version of La Fille Mal Gardée,although his original choreography has not survived. |
| Other number | f.81-60 - H Beard collection numbering |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.34-2008 |
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| Record created | July 3, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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