Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was an Italian composer best known for
his thirty-nine operas. This 1821
lithograph by the French artist
Paul Delaroche is entitled
Il signor Tambourossini, which is a portmanteau of Rossini's name with
tambour (French for 'drum'), caricaturing Rossini's European reputation at the time as a creator of noise. The illustration depicts "Tambourossini" in Oriental dress and playing a trumpet and a bass drum, accompanied by a screeching
magpie, and assisted by
King Midas, with ass's ears. Both are seen trampling on sheet music and violins, while
Apollo, the god of music, flees in the background.
Lithograph credit: Paul Delaroche; restored by Adam Cuerden