Paul Sandby R.A 1725-1809 Six Guineas Entrance and a guinea a lesson. Gaetano Vestris Instructing a duck in the art of Dancing. Exceptionally rare etching and aquatint printed in sepia. Laid down on to acid free card surface retouching and repairs, well conserved. Published by Sandby June 20 1781. BM Satires 5909. 34 by 38 cms. Pl.
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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