Category Archives: Portraits

A comic dance

Posted on June 17, 2013 by mercedes-c

One of the highlights in the career of the actor and pantomimist Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was his performance in Harlequin and Mother Goose, or, The Golden Egg. The DNB notices how ‘fashionable and influential people, including Byron and Lord Eldon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Clowns, Colour, Entertainment, Fools, London, Music, Portraits, Prints, Theatre | Comments Off on A comic dance

“To the friend of curious and interesting things”

Posted on November 20, 2012 by mercedes-c

Among Douce’s portraits of artists, there is a silhouette of the Swiss engraver, publisher, and art dealer Christian von Mechel (1737-1817): The print is annotated with Mechel’s dedication to Douce: I beg dear Mr Douce, the friend of curious and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Dance of Death, History of printmaking, Portraits, Prints | Comments Off on “To the friend of curious and interesting things”

Douce’s ‘Portraits of English literati’

Posted on November 25, 2011 by mercedes-c

Douce’s collection also includes a large number of portraits, most of which seem to have been either given to him by friends and acquaintances, or cut from newspapers and magazines. As Douce knew many of the sitters personally, sometimes he … Continue reading →

Posted in London, Portraits | Comments Off on Douce’s ‘Portraits of English literati’