Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Beaumont, Edouard de, 1821-1888.
2. Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883.
3. Forest, Eugène-Hippolyte, 1808-
4. Gavarni, Paul, 1804-1866.
5. Vernier, Charles, 1831-1887.

Description

1. 7 prints : lithograph, b&w; 40 x 33 cm. or smaller.

Summary

1. Depictions of ballet dancers in a selection of French caricatures of the nineteenth century. Among the artists represented are Edouard de Beaumont, Gustave Doré, Eugène Forest, Paul Gavarni, and Charles Vernier. Both male and female dancers are targeted for ridicule. By a curious coincidence, three caricatures in this collection poke fun at the short tunic, wings, and floral garlands worn by the male character Zéphire in Charles Didelot's ballet Flore et Zéphire (first performed in 1796 but revived in London and Paris in the 1830s). In one caricature, the Zéphire costume is worn by an ape. Several caricatures comment on the relationships between female dancers and their male patrons, a fertile subject for artists of the period. In contrast, the caricature Grecs modernes relegates the female corps de ballet to the background as an ensemble of male soldiers in antique armor dodders onstage.

Subject

1. Lithographs
2. Wood engravings
3. Caricatures
4. Flore et Zéphire (Choreographic work : Didelot)
5. Ballet dancers > France > 19th century > Caricatures and cartoons

Genre/Form

1. Caricatures.
2. Lithographs.
3. Wood engravings.

Contents

1. Charges de carnaval; [published in an unidentified periodical] / [signed] E[ugène] Forest -- L'Opéra au XIXème siècle, no. 53; [caption begins] "Comment, tu vas encore voltiger ce soir dans les airs ..." / [signed in reverse] E[douard] de Beaumont -- L'Opéra au XIXème siècle; [published in an unidentified periodical; caption begins] "Oh! mon petit que v'la une jolie épingle ..." / [signed in reverse] E[douard] de Beaumont -- Oeuvres nouvelles de Gavarni. Baliverneries parisiennes, [no. 16?; caption begins] "Ah! Mademoiselle, vous nous avez exécuté une pirouette ... " / [Paul Gavarni] -- Au bal de l'Opéra, 5. Un Zéphir qui arrive en Ouragan; [published in an unidentified periodical] / [signed] Ch[arles] Vernier -- Les différents publics de Paris, par Gustave Doré. Le public de l'Opéra; [published in an unidentified periodical] / [signed] G. Doré -- Grecs modernes / G. de Galard [artist may be Gustave de Galard or Georges de Galard] -- [Nine vignettes of animals dressed as humans; in the middle row at right, two ape ballet dancers, one costumed as Zéphire].

Call number

1. *MGZFX Car 5-12

Note

1. Title devised by cataloger.

Source (note)

1. Lillian Moore.

Biography (note)

1. Four lithographs in this collection were published in unidentified periodicals, possibly those devoted to humor, such as Le Charivari, Le Journal amusant, or Petit journal pour rire.

Title

1. Ballet dancers in French nineteenth-century caricatures [graphic].

Imprint

1. [183-?-185-?]

Biography

1. Four lithographs in this collection were published in unidentified periodicals, possibly those devoted to humor, such as Le Charivari, Le Journal amusant, or Petit journal pour rire.

Local note

1. Cataloging funds provided by Friends of Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Source

1. L'Opéra au XIXème siècle (2 prints), Oeuvres nouvelles de Gavarni, Au bal de l'Opéra, Grecs modernes, [Nine vignettes] Gift; Lillian Moore.

Connect to:

1. NYPL Digital Collections

Added author

1. Beaumont, Edouard de, 1821-1888. Artist
2. Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883. Artist
3. Forest, Eugène-Hippolyte, 1808- Artist
4. Gavarni, Paul, 1804-1866. Artist
5. Vernier, Charles, 1831-1887. Artist

Research call number

1. *MGZFX Car 5-12