Selected plates from The art of dancing explained by reading and figures

What you are looking at

Two dancers are presented in rear view against a plain background, positioned on a brown ground line beneath a musical staff. The dancer on the left wears a blue coat with yellow lacing at the front, knee breeches, and white stockings; their white hair is in the rococo style. The dancer on the right wears an elaborate crimson or wine-coloured gown with enormous panniers extending the skirt to vast width, and blonde hair dressed high with decorative elements. The woman's immense skirt dominates the composition, gathered up in complex folds and swags that suggest both the weight of the fabric and the exaggerated silhouette of mid-18th-century court fashion. The figures are posed as if captured mid-movement, their bodies angled to show the line from back view—a choice that emphasises the visual spectacle of their clothing rather than the detailed positioning of their feet.

The dancing

Both dancers are shown from behind, with weight distributed evenly and bodies held upright in a formal, composed manner. The man's arm positions are not entirely clear from the angle, but his frame is erect and balanced. The woman's arms are raised and held away from her body, with the right arm extended backward—a gesture that suggests either a turning movement or a pose displaying the silhouette of her gown. Neither figure appears to be executing rapid footwork; the moment seems one of measured, stately progression rather than quick stepping.

The dance depicted

This plate depicts the minuet or a similar court dance of the 18th century, as evidenced by the formal dress, the musical staff above, and the character of the posture. The minuet was the principal dance of European aristocratic courts from the baroque into the rococo period and dominated social dance instruction. The image shows the dancers in costume rather than in the act of demonstrating technique, suggesting this is from a dance instruction manual where dress was as much part of the curriculum as the steps themselves. The notation or instructions above would clarify the specific dance and movement, but the visual evidence points to court dances of the 1750s–1770s period.

How it was made

This is an engraving or etched print, as indicated by the linear hatching visible in the shading of the garments and the characteristic parallel line work of the medium. The fine detail and the ability to render lace, pleats, and textile ornament with precision are typical of 18th-century engraved dance instruction plates. Such prints were made to be bound into dance manuals and sold to the gentry and aristocracy, meaning this was a commercial object aimed at people learning to dance or wishing to understand court fashion. The survival of hand-colouring—the blue coat, the crimson gown—indicates this was a hand-tinted example, suggesting a purchaser of some means.

About this work

This plate comes from *The art of dancing explained by reading and figures*, an 18th-century instructional manual that used engraved images and notation to teach court dances to the European aristocracy. The work is a specimen of didactic art, designed to convey both the aesthetic ideal of the dancer and the precise positioning of the body. It belongs in a dance archive because it is documentary evidence of how dancers were taught to present themselves, how costume functioned in dance, and how movement was notated and transmitted before the invention of photography. The dress is as much the subject as the dance; the two were inseparable in court practice.

How to look at it

Note the rear-view perspective, which was standard in 18th-century dance instruction: it shows the carriage of the back, the set of the shoulders, and the drape of the coat and skirt, all essential to the appearance of refinement. The woman's raised arm and the tilt of her body suggest a turning movement or a moment of compositional balance rather than a static pose. Observe how the artist has rendered the panniers in precise detail—the exaggerated width was not optional or exaggerated for effect, but literal. Look at the musical staff above: it would contain the melody and notation that governed the step patterns the dancers would execute to this visual template.

The period

The 18th century saw a flood of dance instruction manuals across Europe, particularly in France, Italy, and England, as the minuet became the central accomplishment of polite society. These books served the rapidly expanding middle classes who aspired to aristocratic manners; dancing masters used them as marketing tools and as a way to standardise notation and technique across different schools. The rococo period celebrated elegance, refinement, and the display of fine fabrics, and dance—which showed off both body and dress—was central to aristocratic life. Musical notation combined with figure illustrations became the standard format for such manuals, a hybrid language that predated modern Labanotation by a century.

Where it lives

This print is held in the New York Public Library's Prints collection, catalogued as part of a series of plates from *The art of dancing explained by reading and figures*. Such manuals were produced in multiple editions and states across the 18th century, often with variant colouring and different languages of instruction. The survival of this hand-coloured example suggests it was a valued teaching tool or a collector's copy.

Dance in this work

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