J'ay du courage comme un diable, mais vous n'avertissés pas.
(I have the courage of the devil, but you give no warning)
Order image © All images subject to copyright
A man with rounded facial features and close cropped dark hair falls headfirst from the back of a large fantastical bird, which faces right. He tumbles backwards towards the ground, flattening one of the bird's wings. The man is dressed in a short red coat with a white belt and frogging down the front. His trousers and shoes are also white. The man's red and white turban-style hat, which is upside-down on the ground below him, is decorated with a feathered ornament. On his right side, he wears a sword with a curved blade in a white-tipped black scabbard, which is visible between his splayed legs.
The ostrich-like bird looks back at the man, its beak open. The plumage on its wings is pale pink whilst its back and lower neck are brown. Thick hair falls from the front of its neck. The bird has a pink and green feathered head and a red wattle hanging from its throat. It has rabbit-like ears coloured pink with red centres. A large ornament, resembling a flower decorates its top.
Curatorial commentary
- This drawing reprises a theme – the great brought comically low – much in evidence in this volume. The fall appears to have been caused by the loud trumpeting of the similar figure on the facing page (675.45).
Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)
187 x 132
Inscriptions
J'ay du courage comme un diable, mais vous n'avertissés pas.
Inscription
Inscribed by Charles-Germain de Saint-Aubin, below image, in ink
144
Pagination
Top left corner, in ink
Translation of inscription
I have the courage of the devil, but you give no warning
Underdrawing
Underdrawing, centre of page, in graphite; it is probably the figure of a man, although details are illegible
Language
French
Part of
- Livre de Caricatures tant bonnes que mauvaises. 675.1-389
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Bequest of James de Rothschild, 1957
Bibliography
- Colin Jones, Presidential Address. French Crossings. II. Laughing over Boundaries, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 21, December 2011, 1-38; p. 28