| Abstract |
Although the origins of ballet date back to court festivals of the Italian Renaissance, much of ballet as we know it today (dancing on pointe, lavish storytelling ballets, etc.) evolved in the early and middle years of the 19th century--in an atmosphere of heady romanticism. Once the exclusive province of aristocrats, ballet suddenly became a favorite entertainment of the general public. Prima ballerinas of the day--Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito, Lucile Grahn, and others--were idolized and a large demand arose for souvenir prints of performers and performances. Fortuitously enough, the process of lithography and recently been discovered. Not only was the new medium cheaper and faster than engraving on copper plates, it enabled artists to suggest the diaphanous, floating qualities associated with Romantic ballet. Today, these lithographs and engravings comprise a unique visual record of this dazzling era--a vivid chronicle of celebrated dancers, choreographers and productions whose impact altered the course of ballet history. This sumptuous volume reproduces more than a hundred of these historic prints--by such celebrated artists as Alfred Edward Chalon, Pierre-Louis Grévedon, Achille Devéria, Joseph Bouvier, and many more. The prints, including nine in full color, have been reproduced directly from rare and valuable originals in the collection of Parmenia Migel (Ekstrom) of the Stravinsky-Diaghilev Foundation in New York. Here are glorious moments and great personalities from one of ballet's most illustrious eras: Marie Taglioni dancing on point in La Sylphide (Opéra, Paris, 1832); the cloister scene in Robert le Diable (Opéra, Paris, 1831); Grévedon's portrait of Fanny Elssler (Paris, 1835); Carlotta Grisi in Giselle (Opéra, Paris, 1841); "Rats d'Opéra" (Paris, 1854), lithographed by Gustave Doré; and perhaps the pinnacle of Romantic ballet: Grisi, Taglioni, Grahn and Cerrito in Pas de Quatre (Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 1845). Other highlights include several prints of the celebrated dancer/adventuress Lola Montez; a portrait of the master choreographer August Bournonville; the American star Augusta Maywood in Rita Gauthier (1856); a two-page lithograph of the famed Bal Mabille, Paris, ca. 1842; depictions of dance manias such as the polka and cachucha, dance gardens and theaters, several Currier prints, and more. While the visuals in this collection will delight any lover of dance, art, costume and theater, the importance of the prints as historical mementos is underscored by the painstaking research of Parmenia Migel, world-renowned authority on ballet. In addition to a penetrating introduction that places the prints in the context of ballet history, she has also provided a detailed list of the plates (including artist, lithographer, dimensions and date of the print), captions for each plate, a note on the printmakers, an extensive bibliography and an index. |
