LGBTQ+ pioneer.- Genderfluid spy fencing with the first classical composer of African descent.- Picot (Victor Marie) The Assault or Fencing-Match Which Took Place Between Mademoiselle La chevalière d’Eon de Beaumont and Monsieur de Saint George, after the painting by Charles Jean Robineau, etching and engraving, 473 x 504 mm (18 3/4 x 19 3/4 in), laid onto old card support, old handling creases and small repaired tears visible, spotting, surface dirt and minor even toning, unframed, 1787
⁂ 'A print after a painting by Alexandre-Auguste Robineau (1747-1828), now in the Royal Collection (inv. RCIN 400636). It records the fencing match between the Chevalier de Saint-Georges and the Chevaliere d'Eon (the name which had been adopted by the Chevalier d'Eon from 1777, at which date she had begun to live publicly as a woman and to adopt feminine grammar rather than the male grammar she had used to date). The match took place at Carlton House on 9 April 1787 and was attended by numerous members of high society including the Prince of Wales [...] Although the Chevalier was, at this date, living as a woman in London, d'Eon nevertheless continued to give fencing displays and demonstrations, partly as a way to make a living after the ending of the ambassadorial income...' [British Museum]
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) (1745-1799) was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved. He studied in France from the age of 7, excelling as a fencer and a musician and composer. He joined the orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs, which culminated in his appointment as its conductor in 1773, and in 1776, Bologne began conducting the Paris Opera. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music.
A limited number of printed catalogues are available to purchase for this auction.
UK: £35 (incl. postage)
Rest of World: £50 (incl. postage)
Please contact info@forumauctions.co.uk to place an order.
Please Login or Register to request further information and images