Spirit of the Dance
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Spirit of the Dance, 1873, terracotta, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Edwin Binney, 3rd, Fund and The Evan H. Roberts Memorial Sculpture Collection Fund, public domain, 1999.5
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Spirit of the Dance
- Artist
- Date
1873
- Medium
terracotta
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
39 in x 23 3/4 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
numbered: 2426, between the stamps
stamp: PROPRIETE CARPEAUX, stamped, proper right rear of base
stamp: ATELIER DEPOT / AUTEUIL PARIS, stamped, proper left of base
- Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary Art; European Art
- Category
Sculpture
- Object Type
sculpture
- Culture
French
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Edwin Binney, 3rd, Fund and The Evan H. Roberts Memorial Sculpture Collection Fund
- Accession Number
1999.5
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Through posture and gesture, this exuberant figure embodies the Spirit of the Dance. Most artists of this period depicted abstract ideas, such as dance, art, and love through symbols, but Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux chose to bring the concept to vivid life. He modeled his sculpture on the dancers he sketched at the Paris Opéra.
In 1865, Carpeaux was commissioned to create a large sculptural monument, titled The Dance, for the front façade of the Paris Opéra building. Though the work was considered risqué when it was first installed, it eventually proved a popular success and small models of individual figures from the monument were made and sold to collectors. Spirit of the Dance is a model of the central figure from the larger sculptural group.
- Exhibitions
2003 Paris to Portland: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masters in Portland Collections Portland Art Museum
2015 Paradise: Fallen Fruit Portland Art Museum
