Carlotta Grisi and Jules Perrot

What you are looking at

A porcelain figurine depicts two dancers in mid-performance against a plain base. The male dancer, positioned at left, wears a vibrant red jacket with white embroidered details at the chest, green breeches, and black boots. His posture is upright and commanding, shoulders back, with his gaze directed upward and away. The female dancer at right wears a pale lavender or white dress with a fitted bodice and full skirt, decorated with black dot or floral motifs. She wears red slippers and gazes upward toward her partner. Between them, their hands meet in a gentle contact—his right hand clasping her left. The composition suggests a moment of partnership and courtship, with both figures animated yet formal. The modeling is refined, with careful attention to facial features, the fall of fabric, and the decorative embellishments of their costumes. The figurine captures the refined, theatrical style of mid-19th-century ballroom or theatrical dance.

The dancing

Both dancers stand in an upright, elongated frame typical of Romantic-era partnered dance. The male dancer's upper body is slightly advanced, his arm extended in a supportive gesture; the female dancer leans fractionally toward him, their joined hands forming the primary point of connection. Neither figure is in deep flexion or extreme extension, suggesting a moment of poised movement rather than dramatic athleticism. The positioning conveys mutual regard and formal partnership rather than the close frame of later ballroom styles. The modeling of their limbs and torsos is slender and aristocratic, consistent with the aesthetic ideals of mid-century ballet and theatrical dance.

The dance depicted

The identities named in the catalogue record—Carlotta Grisi and Jules Perrot—were among the most celebrated dancers of the Romantic ballet era. Grisi (1819–1899) was an Italian prima ballerina; Perrot (1810–1894) was a French dancer and later renowned choreographer. If this figurine accurately depicts them together, it likely commemorates a specific partnership or celebrated moment they shared on stage, though the exact production is not identified here. The pose suggests a pas de deux or a moment of theatrical interaction rather than concert social dancing. The refined costumes and theatrical presentation—the vivid colors, the embroidered details—point to a stage work of the 1840s, when both dancers were at the height of their careers.

How it was made

This is a hand-painted porcelain figurine, a technique that allowed for fine modeling of facial features and the incising of drapery folds, combined with careful hand application of colored glazes and gilded or metallic details. The base is simple and unglazed, typical of mid-century figure production. Porcelain figurines of celebrated performers were common souvenirs and collectors' items, distributed commercially to ballroom and theater audiences. The quality of the modeling and the specificity of the costuming suggest this was a professional production, likely from a European porcelain maker, and would have circulated among people with access to theatrical performances.

About this work

This porcelain figurine records a moment between two of the Romantic ballet era's most celebrated performers, capturing the partnership and theatrical glamour of 1840s dance. Grisi and Perrot were central figures in the creation and performance of the great Romantic ballets; their on-stage partnership, marked by technical brilliance and dramatic presence, was legendary. The figurine freezes a formal, courteous moment of dance—not the extremes of movement, but the poise and mutual regard that underpinned their performances. As an object, it testifies to the star system of 19th-century dance and the appetite for theatrical souvenirs that immortalized favorite performers for domestic collections.

How to look at it

Attend to the hands and the direction of the gaze—both are points of connection and communication. Notice the extreme verticality of both figures and the slenderness of their limbs, ideals of beauty in Romantic aesthetics. The bright colors and gilded details catch light and draw the eye, mimicking the spectacle of a stage lit by gas lamps. The moment captured is not one of extreme physical demand but of poise and composure, suggesting the controlled elegance that separated professional theatrical dancers from ordinary people.

The period

In the 1840s, when this figurine was likely made, Romantic ballet was at its zenith. Carlotta Grisi had recently danced the role of Giselle (choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot) at its 1841 premiere in Paris—a cornerstone of the Romantic repertoire. Jules Perrot was both a dancer of immense technical and dramatic skill and an increasingly prolific choreographer. The period celebrated the ballerina as an otherworldly, ethereal figure, yet the partnership between male and female dancers remained central to the ballet d'action. Porcelain figurines of dancers had been produced since the 18th century, but the commercial market for such souvenirs expanded significantly in the 19th century as urban theatrical culture grew and star performers acquired a modern kind of celebrity. This figurine participates in that market, offering middle-class collectors a way to own a memento of the stars they admired.

Where it lives

The record identifies this as a figurine held in a collection sourced from "va" (likely Virginia); no further provenance details are recorded. Porcelain figurines of this type were widely distributed commercial objects, and tracking individual examples to a maker or specific performance is often not possible.

Dance in this work

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