Melle Cerrito, dans Le violon du diable

What you are looking at

A young female dancer is captured mid-leap against a plain beige background, her body suspended in a dynamic, weightless moment. She wears a white romantic-era tutu with layered skirts and a dark corset-style bodice with what appears to be a jeweled or ornamental belt. Her hair is styled up and crowned with what looks like a small tiara or decorative headpiece, and a flowing red and gold ribbon or scarf streams behind her in the air, amplifying the sense of motion. Her right arm is extended forward in an elegant line, while her left arm curves gracefully. Her posture suggests she is captured at the apex of a grand jeté or similar aerial step, her body angled dynamically across the picture plane. A shadow beneath her feet grounds her momentarily against the blank stage. The print bears a caption at the bottom identifying the dancer and the work.

The dancing

The dancer's body is extended in a classical balletic line—one leg appears to be bent while the other stretches behind, the torso held upright with the characteristic lifted carriage of Romantic-era ballet. Her arms frame the movement in the refined, naturalistic port de bras of the period, with the upper arm externally rotated and the wrist soft. The extended position of her limbs and the directional momentum suggest a traveling step executed with considerable height and control. The solitary figure dominates the composition, emphasizing the virtuosity expected of a named prima ballerina.

The dance depicted

This is almost certainly a scene from a Romantic-era ballet, most likely depicting Melle Cerrito in the lead role of *Le Violon du Diable* (The Devil's Violin), a work that capitalized on the supernatural and exotic themes popular in 1840s ballet. The pose and costume align with the ethereal, otherworldly characters typical of the Romantic ballet repertory—the light tutu, the upward lift, the sense of weightlessness and grace. Cerrito (1817–1909) was one of the most celebrated Italian ballerinas of her era and was known for her technical brilliance and theatrical presence. The image captures the ideal of Romantic ballet as it was performed and imagined: a solitary female figure, dematerialized and elevated, suspended in a moment of impossible beauty.

How it was made

This is a hand-colored lithograph or engraving, likely a promotional print made for circulation among ballet enthusiasts and theatre-goers. The delicate hand-coloring of the tutu, bodice, and ribbon—in shades of white, cream, red, and gold—is characteristic of theatrical prints of the 1840s–50s. The technique allowed for relatively rapid and affordable reproduction compared to oil painting, making such prints accessible to a wider audience than a unique artwork. The plain background and the careful attention to the dancer's silhouette and costume details suggest this was created from a live performance or a commissioned theatrical design, intended to memorialize a celebrated role and to advertise the dancer's skill and fame.

About this work

This is a Romantic-era theatrical print depicting the celebrated Italian ballerina Melle Cerrito in a starring role. The work captures the visual language and ideals of mid-nineteenth-century ballet at its height: a solitary female figure in the weightless, ethereal pose that defined the era's aesthetic. The hand-colored technique and careful composition indicate this was a commercial theatrical print, designed to circulate among ballet enthusiasts and to commemorate a notable performance.

The image is valuable as both a record of a specific dancer and role and as evidence of how Romantic ballet was marketed and remembered. The precision of the costume detail and the dancer's refined pose tell us how the role was understood—as a display of technical mastery combined with an almost supernatural lightness and grace. For dancers and historians, this is a primary document of mid-nineteenth-century ballet culture.

How to look at it

Pay attention to the moment the artist chose to freeze: the dancer is captured at the height of her leap, at the moment of maximum suspension and grace, rather than during the effort of takeoff or landing. This is characteristic of Romantic-era theatrical prints, which idealize and dematerialize the dancer rather than documenting the mechanics of movement. Notice how the flowing ribbon and the lifted posture create a sense of movement and weightlessness even in a static image. The refined costume and the solo focus emphasize the individual virtuosity and fame of the named dancer, which is typical of how mid-nineteenth-century ballet stars were marketed and remembered.

The artist

The artist is not recorded in the catalogue, but the print bears a signature (possibly "Lemoine" or similar) in the lower right, suggesting a professional theatrical artist working in the mid-nineteenth-century Paris print trade. Many such prints were created by anonymous or semi-anonymous artists contracted to capture famous dancers and roles for rapid commercial reproduction. The quality of execution and the careful attention to balletic convention suggest an artist familiar with theatrical dance and with the conventions of the Romantic ballet aesthetic.

The period

This print dates to the height of the Romantic ballet era in Europe, roughly 1840–1860, when ballet had become a dominant form of theatrical entertainment and when celebrated ballerinas achieved international fame and mobility. The 1840s saw the rise of the ethereal, otherworldly female dancer as the ideal—a figure associated with supernatural themes, exotic locales, and impossible physical feats. Major works of the period, such as *La Sylphide* (1832) and *Giselle* (1841), established the aesthetic and narrative conventions that Cerrito's role in *Le Violon du Diable* would have inherited. The print's style and technique are consistent with the flourishing trade in theatrical portraiture and celebrity imagery that developed alongside the growth of commercial theatre in Paris, London, and Milan.

Where it lives

This is a hand-colored theatrical print held in the New York Public Library's collection of prints depicting dance. It is one of many such commercial prints created in the mid-nineteenth century to memorialize celebrated ballet roles and dancers, and it reflects the popularity of Romantic ballet among a broad European and American audience.

Dance in this work

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