Sandby (Paul, 1731-1809) Six guineas entrance and a guinea a lesson, etching and aquatint, printed in sepia, on cream laid paper with large watermark of a two-headed eagle, sheet 379 x 337 mm. (14 7/8 x 13 1/4 in), trimmed within platemark, central vertical fold, three small repaired nicks to right hand edge, one encroaching within image, minor handling creases, light surface dirt, unframed, published by the artist, 1781. Literature: BM Satires 5909 ⁂ Scarce. The gentleman instructing the duck is the great French dancer and ballet master, Gaetano Apollino Baldassare Vestris (1729-1808). By 1781 Vestris's success and vanity had grown to such proportions that he is reported to have said "There are but three great men in Europe - the King of Prussia, Voltaire and I". It is thought Sandby executed this satire after arriving to give Vestris a drawing lesson in his home, only to be kept waiting for an inordinately long time while the French master finished a dancing lesson.
Sandby (Paul, 1731-1809) Six guineas entrance and a guinea a lesson, etching and aquatint, printed in sepia, on cream laid paper with large watermark of a two-headed eagle, sheet 379 x 337 mm. (14 7/8 x 13 1/4 in), trimmed within platemark, central vertical fold, three small repaired nicks to right hand edge, one encroaching within image, minor handling creases, light surface dirt, unframed, published by the artist, 1781. Literature: BM Satires 5909 ⁂ Scarce. The gentleman instructing the duck is the great French dancer and ballet master, Gaetano Apollino Baldassare Vestris (1729-1808). By 1781 Vestris's success and vanity had grown to such proportions that he is reported to have said "There are but three great men in Europe - the King of Prussia, Voltaire and I". It is thought Sandby executed this satire after arriving to give Vestris a drawing lesson in his home, only to be kept waiting for an inordinately long time while the French master finished a dancing lesson.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
