The Spirit of the Dance

The Spirit of the Dance
The Spirit of the Dance
(French, 1827-1875)

The Spirit of the Dance

Date1875
Mediumterracotta
Dimensionsobject: 38 1/2 x 18 x 13 in. (97.8 x 45.7 x 33 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Museum purchase with funds provided by gifts from Mrs. Courtney Hutton and Joanne and Robert Kendall
Object number1988.5
Subject(s)
  • dance
  • nudes
Collection
  • 19th century French
On View
Not on view
Label TextIn 1869, Carpeaux revealed The Dance, a figural group commissioned by Charles Garnier for the façade of the Paris Opera. The realism of the sculpted female nudes caused a sensation. Carpeaux capitalized upon the work’s fame by extracting elements derived from this complex allegorical composition to generate a whole host of new subjects, including this variation. These smaller works found a ready market and helped cement his reputation as the most celebrated French sculptor of his generation.
Sarcophagus
Roman
270-300 CE
Bust of Jean Léon Gérôme
Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX
ca. 1871
Satyr
Roman
1st-2nd century CE
Gloria Victis
Antonin MERCIÉ
1874 modelled
Black-figure lekythos (oil bottle)
HAIMON PAINTER
ca. 490 BCE
Elizabeth Coats Greenleaf
Christian GULLAGER
ca. 1787
Figurine of Hermes
Roman
late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE
Lady with Bird
China
Tang dynasty (618-906)
City Scene
Jean Baptiste BOTTEX
n.d.
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