Guide to the James Gillray Engraving MS.P.058
Zoe MacLeod
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
(cc) 2012
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: James Gillray engraving
Creator:
Gillray, James
Identifier/Call Number: MS.P.058
Physical Description:
0.1 Linear Feet
(1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1849
Abstract: This collection comprises a single 1849
engraving by James Gillray, entitled "Modern grace, or the operatical finale to the ballet
of Alonzo e caro," with contemporary coloring (London: Bohl) made with original plates from
the 1796 printing.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or
to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
James Gillray Engraving. MS-P058. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine
Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Purchased in 2003.
Processed by Zoe MacLeod, 2012.
James Gillray, born in 1757, was an English caricaturist artist known for his satirical
political and social etchings. His political satires feature such figures as George III and
Napoleon and many of his caricatures commented on the French Revolution. He is thought to be
one of the greatest English satirical artists and his style continues to influence political
caricatures today. He died in 1815.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises a single 1849 engraving by James Gillray, titled "Modern grace,
or the operatical finale to the ballet of Alonzo e caro," with contemporary coloring
(London: Bohl) made with original plates from the 1796 printing. The Bohm 1849 edition, from
which this engraving is taken, collects and reprints all of Gillray's prints from original
plates. The print shows Charles Didelot dancing between two women, both lightly clad in
quasi-classical costumes. One of the women, Mademoiselle Parisot, dances with a breast bare
-- this appears to be the reason for the satirical print to have been published. The ballet
was by Onorati from "Les Incas" by Marmontel, and it went through six performances at the
Royal Opera House beginning on 6 April 1796. The dancing of Didelot and his wife caused a
sensation both for its brilliance and for its risque costuming. The verso of this engraving
contains another engraving, also by Gillray, entitled
A Peep at
Christies, or Tally-ho & his Nimeney-Pimmeney taking the Morning Lounge
. This
engraving is not colored.
For further information, see
Robert Harding Evans and Thomas Wright.
Historical and
descriptive account of the caricatures of James Gillray: comprising a political and
humorous history of the latter part of the reign of George the Third.
(London: G.
H. Bohn, 1815).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Engravings -- Color.
Dance -- France
Ballet dancers -- 19th century -- Pictorial works
Ballet -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Dance -- Archives
Ballet dancers in art -- 19th century
Didelot, Charles Louis
box FB-023, folder 3
Modern grace, or the operatical finale to the ballet of Alonzo e caro : engraving 1849