Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by Godefroy Engelmann. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This coloured lithograph depicts French comic actor Jacques‑Charles Odry (c.
About this work
Overview
1781–1853) in costume as Larose from the vaudeville comedy *L’Aveugle de Montmorency*, performed at the Théâtre de Variétés.
This coloured lithograph depicts French comic actor Jacques‑Charles Odry (c.1781–1853) in costume as Larose from the vaudeville comedy *L’Aveugle de Montmorency*, performed at the Théâtre de Variétés. The image was drawn by lithographer G. Engelmann and issued by the publishing house Martinet. Though undated, stylistic and production clues place it in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait serves as a visual record of Odry’s stage persona, presenting him in the specific role of Larose. Such images functioned as promotional material and as memorabilia for theatre‑goers, reinforcing the connection between actor, character, and the popular vaudeville genre of the period.
Technique & Style
Executed as a coloured lithograph, the work combines line work with hand‑applied pigments, a method pioneered by Godefroy Engelmann. The lithographic process allowed for relatively rapid reproduction of detailed theatrical images, while the added colour enhances the costume’s visual impact.
History & Provenance
Printed by the Martinet firm, a notable publisher of theatrical ephemera, the lithograph likely circulated among Parisian audiences at the time of the play’s performance. Its survival in collections reflects the broader practice of preserving theatre advertising as cultural documentation.
Context
*L’Aveugle de Montmorency* was a typical ‘comédie‑vaudeville’, blending spoken dialogue with musical interludes, a popular form in early nineteenth‑century French theatre. Odry, a celebrated comic actor, frequently appeared in such productions, and his likeness would have been recognizable to contemporary patrons.
Artist & collection
Artist
Godefroy Engelmann made bold, black-and-white prints in early 19th-century France.
