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Dance in Art
M'lle. [Louise] Lamoureux, the celebrated danseuse [with accompanying article]
Unknown artist
- Dance:
- dance
- Collection:
- Prints depicting dance
- Source:
- nypl
- Rights:
- Public Domain
This engraving is a primary historical document of Romantic ballet practice and aesthetics at their height. For dance historians, it provides evidence of costume, grouping, and the physical ideal of the female dancer in the 1840s–50s; for art historians, it exemplifies the period's fascination with theatrical representation and the print media's role in creating celebrity. It shows us how a dance that is now known only through written description and still images was understood as a living, dramatic spectacle.
What you are looking at
This engraving depicts a theatrical dance scene crowded with figures in Romantic-era costume. The composition is dense and energetic, with multiple dancers arranged across the stage space in various attitudes of motion. The central figures are women in voluminous skirts—the characteristic tulle and gauze of mid-19th-century ballet—their bodies tilted, arms extended, some en pointe or rising onto their toes. Male dancers in dark jackets and tights support and partner the women. The setting suggests an interior theatrical space, with architectural elements and drapery visible at the margins. The engraving technique creates strong contrasts of light and shadow that emphasize the movement and the shimmer of the fabrics. The overall impression is one of spectacle and coordinated ensemble action, with the eye drawn to the intricate layering of overlapping bodies and the dynamic poses that convey speed and elevation.
The dancing
The dancers display the lifted, weightless quality characteristic of Romantic ballet: women rise onto pointe or demi-pointe with extended legs and arms held in soft curves; men provide support and lift the women into aerial positions. The poses suggest jumps caught mid-air, spins, and the vocabulary of classical ballet technique. The women's arms are rounded and graceful rather than sharp; their necks are elongated and heads tilted in the languid attitude of Romantic aesthetics. The men are positioned as enablers of the women's flight, their own bodies more compact and grounded. The crowding of bodies suggests either a corps de ballet in formation or a climactic ensemble scene rather than a solo or duet.
The dance depicted
This is unmistakably Romantic ballet of the mid-19th century, the era of *La Sylphide*, *Giselle*, and the dominance of the female dancer. The subject title indicates this depicts Louise Lamoureux, a celebrated dancer of the period, though she is not individually identifiable in the crowd of figures. The engraving captures the aesthetic that defined ballet for its audience: weightlessness, ethereal femininity, supernatural elevation, and the partnership of a virtuosic female dancer with supporting male dancers. The poses and groupings suggest a narrative scene of drama and spectacle rather than a single pas de deux.
How it was made
This is an engraving, a print created by incising lines into a metal plate (likely steel or copper) and inking the grooves to create an impression. The technique is evident in the fine parallel hatching lines that model form and create tonal gradation, and in the crisp contrast between black lines and white paper. Engraving was a costly and laborious process, requiring skilled craftsmen, which meant that only works of high commercial or artistic interest were engraved. The fact that this scene was engraved and published indicates it was a famous performance, widely known to audiences, and that the Romantic ballet was a major public entertainment worthy of permanent record. The accompanying article (mentioned in the catalogue record) would have circulated this image in a periodical, making it accessible to theatre-goers and those interested in dance.
About this work
This engraving documents a celebrated moment in mid-19th-century Romantic ballet, a performance by or featuring Louise Lamoureux, a star of the Parisian stage. It is neither a portrait nor a literal record, but rather an artistic interpretation of theatrical spectacle designed to convey the essence and excitement of the performance to readers who saw it in print. The work belongs to a rich tradition of dance documentation through the graphic arts—a period before photography could capture movement, when engravings and lithographs were the primary means of circulating images of famous dancers and celebrated performances. The density of the composition and the energy of the line work suggest the overwhelming sensory experience of the theatre: the visual noise, the cascading fabrics, the coordinated athleticism of multiple bodies in motion. It is a document of both dance history and art history, showing how the Romantic era understood and valued ballet.
How to look at it
Attend to the moment captured: the artist has frozen a scene of maximum visual drama—multiple bodies airborne or about to ascend, the women's skirts billowing, the composition unstable and energetic. Notice the contrast between the supported women (held aloft, weightless) and the grounded men (compact, providing the base). The engraver's use of fine hatching to suggest the shimmer and texture of tulle and gauze is a technical accomplishment; by varying the density and direction of lines, the artist conveys both fabric and light. The composition is deeply hierarchical: the women's bodies are elongated, lifted, and luminous; the men's are foreshortened and darkened. This visual hierarchy was not accidental but ideological—it shows us what the Romantic era valued in dance and in gender.
The period
This engraving dates to the height of Romantic ballet in Europe, roughly 1840–1860. This was the era in which ballet had become a major urban entertainment, centered on the virtuosity of female dancers—the ballerinas—who performed the supernatural and tragic heroines of works like *Giselle* (1841), *La Sylphide* (1832), and *La Corsaire* (1856). Paris, where Lamoureux was a celebrated dancer, was the undisputed capital of ballet. The Romantic movement in art and literature celebrated the ethereal, the melancholic, the otherworldly, and ballet embodied these aesthetics perfectly: weightlessness, elongated lines, soft fabrics, and the illusion of effortless flight. Male dancers were increasingly relegated to a supporting role—a major shift from earlier periods when men had been equal or dominant partners. The engraving itself is a product of the period's hunger for images of theatrical life; periodicals like *L'Illustration* and *The Illustrated London News* published wood engravings and steel engravings of famous performances, creating a mass-market celebrity culture around dancers.
Where it lives
This engraving is held in the New York Public Library's collection of prints depicting dance. It was likely originally published as an illustration in a 19th-century periodical or theatrical publication, accompanying an article about Lamoureux or a review of the performance. The catalogue record indicates the artist is not recorded; this is common for commercial engravings of the period, which were often collaborative products and were attributed to the publication rather than the engraver.
Dance in this work
Questions about this work
Who was Louise Lamoureux?
Louise Lamoureux was a celebrated danseuse (female ballet dancer) of the mid-19th century, active primarily in Paris during the 1840s–1860s. She was one of the star performers of the Romantic ballet era, the period in which the female dancer became the dominant figure in ballet and virtuosity en pointe was the ultimate technical achievement. Beyond this engraving, little detailed biographical information survives, which was typical for dancers of the period—even celebrated performers left scant documentation unless they achieved legendary status like Marie Taglioni.
What is Romantic ballet?
Romantic ballet emerged in the 1830s as a fusion of the technical vocabulary of classical ballet with the aesthetics of the Romantic movement in art and literature. It celebrated the ethereal, the supernatural, and the melancholic; stories featured sylphs, spirits, and tragic heroines rather than gods and allegories. The female dancer, performing en pointe in a long tulle skirt, became the central figure, often partnered by a male dancer who lifted and supported her. Works like *La Sylphide* and *Giselle* defined the era and remain central to the ballet repertory.
How was dance recorded before photography?
Before photography could capture movement (and even after, since early photography was too slow to freeze action), dance was documented through engravings, lithographs, and written notation. Artists would attend performances and sketch or remember what they saw, then translate their observations into prints. These images were published in theatrical periodicals, programs, and illustrated newspapers, creating a visual record of famous performances and dancers. They were often idealized or schematized rather than literal records, but they are invaluable as evidence of how dancers moved, dressed, and were understood by their audiences.
What technique was used to make this engraving?
This is a steel or copper-plate engraving, made by incising fine lines into a polished metal plate with a burin (a sharp tool). The incised lines hold ink, which is then transferred to paper under pressure. Steel plates could produce many more impressions than copper before wearing down, making them economical for popular prints. The technique is labour-intensive and required highly skilled craftsmen, which meant that engravings were expensive to produce and were reserved for important or commercially viable subjects. The accompanying article suggests this print was circulated in a periodical, where it would have been wood-engraved or steel-engraved for mass reproduction.
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