Revered, as much as mocked, during his lifetime, Auguste Vestris (1760-1842) appears as an emblematic figure of an artistic stardom accessed by a small elite of dancers from the second half of the eighteenth century. His professional career, at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, thus concentrates all the characteristics of celebrity, whose mechanisms have been well highlighted by Antoine Lilti. The circulation of fiery testimonies of spectators, anecdotes and good words, painted or engraved portraits or caricatures participates in a “Vestris-mania” that extends far beyond the circles of Parisian amateurs, in the provinces and throughout Europe. It reflects, at least as much as the enthusiasm for the services of the one who was consecrated, following his father Gaëtan, “god of dance”, the public’s curiosity for a “son of” who was enriched by to his successes and whose tumultuous privacy carries its share of scandals.
In his epic poem The Dance or the Gods of the Opera, published while the dancer is still active, Joseph Berchoux represents Vestris defeated following a fight between him and his young rival Duport. “But the vanity of human things! nobody today knows the name of Duport, and that of Vestris will remain in the history of art as did that of Bathylle ”, prophesies Auguste Jal a few decades later. By distinguishing between two forms of public recognition, the commentary invites us to reflect on how a “celebrity of the day” manages to survive his ephemeral status as a star, renowned in particular for his virtuosity, and to establish himself. , in historiographical memory as in that of other arts, in glory of dance …
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