Leon Schottisch

What you are looking at

A single female dancer dominates the oval composition, posed in a balletic attitude against a plain background. She wears an ornate corseted bodice with short, puffed sleeves and a voluminous skirt of white tulle decorated with embroidered or applied floral motifs. Her dark hair is curled and styled fashionably; she gazes toward the viewer's right with an expression of composed grace. One leg is extended in a pointed position while the other supports her weight, her arms held in a soft, classical port de bras. The image is rendered as an engraving or lithograph in sepia tones with fine cross-hatching to suggest volume and shadow. The oval framing was a convention of theatrical publicity of the era.

The dancing

The dancer's weight rests on her left leg, which is straight and turned out; her right leg extends behind and to the side in an open position approximating a développé or attitude derrière, the foot pointed in classical ballet style. Her upper body remains upright and composed, with arms softly placed—the left arm extended gently forward, the right at her side—in a balletic frame that avoids the angular positions of character dance. The entire figure conveys the ethereal, weightless quality of mid-19th-century Romantic ballet technique.

The dance depicted

This is a portrait of a professional ballet dancer, almost certainly a prima ballerina of the 1840s–1850s. The title refers to the schottische (or scotch), a popular ballroom and theatrical dance of the period, but the image shows pure classical ballet vocabulary and costume. The schottische itself was a couple dance in moderate 2/4 time, popular in ballrooms, but theatrical dancers also performed solo versions. This image may depict a theatrical performer known for her ability to dance both classical ballet and popular social dances, or it may be a misattribution of the title.

How it was made

This is a hand-colored or tinted engraving or lithograph, most likely a commercial theatrical print from the 1840s–1850s. The technique allows fine detail in the costume and anatomy while the pale background emphasizes the figure. The oval frame and sepia tones are typical of celebrity portraiture in sheet music covers and theatrical publicity of this era. Such prints were produced in quantity and widely circulated, serving as both souvenir and advertisement.

About this work

This is a theatrical portrait of a professional female dancer, rendered as an engraved or lithographed print in the style of 19th-century celebrity publicity. The work documents the appearance and costume of a performer of the Romantic ballet period, when tutus had shortened from ankle-length to mid-calf and the technique demanded the pointed foot and lifted bearing evident here. The inscription credits the image to the printer and mentions that the dance was performed by 'Master Leon' of George Christy's Minstrels, a major American entertainment company of the era. The juxtaposition of classical ballet technique with the title 'Schottisch' suggests the flexibility and versatility demanded of professional dancers in mid-19th-century American theatrical culture, where ballet, pantomime, and popular social dance coexisted on the same stage.

How to look at it

Attend to the technical precision of the pose: the turned-out supporting leg, the fully pointed extended foot, and the composed upper body all signal training in the classical ballet vocabulary. The costume—the short tulle skirt, the corseted bodice, the soft upper arm—was the emerging Romantic ballet standard, distinct from both earlier court dress and the heavy costume of character dance. The artist has chosen a moment of stillness and balance rather than motion, which was standard in celebrity portraiture but also allowed viewers to appreciate the dancer's command of her body.

The artist

The artist is not recorded in the catalogue. The print bears the imprint of a New York publisher. The composition and execution are consistent with theatrical lithographic portraits of the period, a commercially important genre that recorded the appearance of celebrated performers for a paying public.

The period

The 1840s–1850s were the height of the Romantic ballet era in Europe, when dancers such as Marie Taglioni established the ethereal, weightless aesthetic visible here. In America, however, this European prestige coexisted with a thriving popular entertainment industry in which ballet dancers performed in shorter engagements, mixed bills, and social dances for audiences who encountered them primarily through prints, playbills, and live performances in theaters and music halls. George Christy's Minstrels were one of the most successful American entertainment enterprises of the era, and their employment of ballet-trained dancers suggests the porous boundary between 'art' dance and popular entertainment in 19th-century America.

Where it lives

This print is held in the New York Public Library's collection of prints depicting dance. It is part of the commercial theatrical print culture of mid-19th-century America and was designed for public circulation as a souvenir and promotional image.

Dance in this work

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