RESERVED

Half-sisters Dido and Elisabeth

Louis Stanislas Marin-Lavigne (1797-1860).

Dido Elisabeth Belle and Lady Elisabeth Murray.

[Paris, 1848].

Hand coloured lithograph. 75 x 54,5 cm. (image); 86 x 66 cm. (frame). Signed “Marin Lavergne”. Mounted on cardboard, in contemporary wooden gilt frame by “Pécourt”.

            Large coloured lithograph depicting Dido Elisabeth Belle and Lady Elisabeth Murray, by prominent French lithographer Marin-Lavigne. Dido and Elisabeth were half-sisters who lived together in 18th century England with their great-uncle Lord Mansfield. Dido was the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of admiral Sir John Lindsay. There was a certain fascination for their close friendship amongst contemporaries, resulting in many depictions of them. Whether the maker of this lithograph was aware that he was depicting Dido Elisabeth Belle and Lady Elisabeth Murray remains uncertain. In the 1848 edition of the Bibliographie de la France this lithograph was listed as “Une jeune négresse tenant la chaine attachée à la patte d’un perroquet posé sur le doigt de sa maitresse”. Compared to other depictions of Dido and Elisabeth the likeness is unmistakable.
            This print was number 1 of Marin-Lavigne’s most ambitious series of monumental lithographs of romantic scenes that reminisce on times past, titled Grands groupes aux deux crayons. These were published without colouring, but the copy that we offer here was extensively amended with watercolour and gouache to give the print a painting-like appearance. This was something that Marin-Lavigne did more often, as we have seen in copies of other prints by him, and would have significantly increased the value.

Condition: cardboard slightly bulbed. A few minor chips off the paint. Some discoloration at the foot. Otherwise in good condition.