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Since 1763 the name 'Russborough' has been synonymous with collecting and dealing in fine art. In the closing decades of the last century the historic town of Port Hope has become home to Lord Russborough's Annex, which specialises in an individual mix of antique maps, paintings and prints.

While Lord Russborough's Annex features a great many works of museum calibre, we also offer a wonderful selection of prints priced at under $100.

'Albert' Decombe

An extract of our prints currently available:
'Albert' François Decombe

'Albert' Decombe

'Albert' François Decombe

Stone lithograph oval portrait by C. Motte after Vigneron Collection du Courrier des Spectacles n.17 of the Ballet Master and instructor at the Paris Opera Acdemie royale de Musique (Danse)
Matted, glazed, acanthus leaf motif period oak frame.
8 3/8 x 4 5/8" inc. letters ( 22.2 x 11.7 cm.) Frame: 17 1/2 x 14 1/2"
Ref.JS4/ LNN/ s.dd>GLN     PRICE CODE D      SOLD
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François Decombe aka. 'Albert' (orig. François Decombe;b Bordeaux, 10 Apr. 1787 (some sources say 1789), d Fontainebleau, 19 July 1865). Was a French ballet dancer, choreographer and Dance Master who used the stage name 'Albert'. He studied from the age of 10, with one short lapse, making his debut in Bordeaux in 1799. He became premier danseur at the Théâtre de la Gaité in Paris and in 1808 (some sources say 1803) moved to the Paris Opera where he was also ballet master (1829-42). He also worked in London at various times between 1821 and 1845, in Naples (1825), in Vienna (1830), and in Brussels (1838-40). At a time when male dance style was moving towards athletic technique Albert continued to exemplify the refined nobility of 18th-century ballet. He was considered the most handsome dancer in Europe.

He created roles in Gardel's Paul et Virginie (1806), F. Taglioni's Aglaë (London version 1841), and his own The Marble Maiden (1845). He choreographed several other ballets, including Cendrillon (mus. A. Sor, Paris, 1823), La Jolie Fille de Gand (mus. Adam, Paris, 1842), and the ballet divertissements in Donizetti's opera La Favorite (Paris, 1841).

As a teacher he developed systematic methods for improving the strength and stamina of his pupils, publishing a manual L'Art de la danse à la ville et a la cour.