Dancers in Art: From Ballet to Tango

Like all movement, dancing can seem difficult to capture in a painting. But this doesn’t mean that artists haven’t tried and succeeded. People dancing in art aren’t all that uncommon. Whether alone or in a pair, each of these paintings depicts dancers.

Artists throughout the ages have been intrigued by the idea of capturing both the emotion and purpose of the dance’s steps.

Here are a few paintings that attempt to do just that:

Bold Ballet

Anna Pavlova as Bacchante. 1911. John Lavery

In this portrait, famous ballerina Anna Pavlova is depicted by Irish painter John Lavery (1856-1941) dancing in the “Autumn Bacchanal” from Glazunov’s “The Seasons”. She’s dressed as a bacchante – a female follower of Dionysius in Greek mythology. Anna Pavlova is shown throwing her head back in abandon, while gracefully lifting a scarlet veil over her head. She wears a simple white tunic with grapes in her hair, symbolizing autumn and wine’s intoxication. Her dance seems to mimic a trance, which bacchantes are said to have fallen into while dancing in honor of the Greek god of wine and festivity. 

Lavery uses dramatic lighting and shadows to suggest that the image is a role portrait, but leaves out all other stage props, concentrating on Pavlova’s figure alone. When Pavlova appeared in “Autumn Bacchanal” for the first time in London in 1910, she was a sensation. John Lavery received a commission from The Illustrated London News to paint the famous ballerina, and he went on to create several more images of her in her other roles.

Weekend Waltz

Dance at Bougival. 1883. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This bright and airy painting shows a pair waltzing, while behind them other people are enjoying themselves at the tables of an outdoor café. Bougival was a village on the bank of the River Seine, about 15 km from Paris, which was a very popular weekend destination for 19th-century Parisians. Many Impressionists painted in the vicinity of Bougival, and Renoir was no exception. In “Dance at Bougival”, he depicts a couple dancing the waltz in an informal café. The casual atmosphere is emphasized by the straw hat the man is wearing, as well as by the beers on the table in front of the couple in the background.

“Dance in the City”, “Dance in the Country”, and “Dance at Bougival”. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir painted at least three paintings of dancing pairs – now referred to as “Dance in the City”, “Dance in the Country”, and “Dance at Bougival”. Of them all, “Dance at Bougival” shows the least formal occasion. The summer hats the people wear, the gaudy colors, and even the small discarded bouquet of violets on the dance floor hint at restful idleness. The painting seems to be filled with sunshine, as Renoir repeats the sunny yellows of the male dancer’s hat in the sandy ground and the treetops in the background.

Dance Me to The End of Love. 1998. Jack Vettriano

Another famous painting of a waltzing couple is Jack Vettriano’s “Dance Me to The End of Love”. Jack Vettriano (b. 1951) is a Scottish painter, whose painting “The Singing Butler” sold in 2004 for £744,500 – a record price paid for a Scottish painting. The artist’s subjects are inspired by old films; many of them feature people dancing, sometimes on the seashore.

The misty landscape suggests a stretch of seacoast, but it’s not detailed, only serving to create a spaceless, silvery background for possibly the most romantic ballroom dancers in art. There are other couples behind them, but the couple in front takes center stage. It’s not entirely clear whether the light at the top of the picture comes from the sun hidden behind a cloud or from stage lamps.

Tempting Tango

Study for Tango V. Fabian Perez

Fabian Perez (b. 1967) is an Argentinian artist, known for his paintings of tango, flamenco, and scenes of Argentinian nightlife. He describes his style as “neo-emotionalism”, and it’s easy to see why. Most of his paintings have a subdued color palette, concentrating on the expressions and poses of the figures to reveal emotion. The brushstrokes are loose and bold in this study, which is not always the case with the finished works. In the case of tango as the subject matter, the unfinished quality of the brushstrokes just enhances the feeling of movement and heightens the tension characteristic of this Argentinian dance. Dancers in Perez’s art inhabit a highly emotional world of their own, and his use of contrasting dark and light helps convey their inner feelings.

Romantic Romani Dances

El Jaleo, 1882. John Singer Sargent

American painter John Singer Sargent was best known in his time for the numerous society portraits he created for wealthy Europeans and Americans alike. They, however, were never the most significant part of his art for the painter himself. In 1879, Sargent traveled to North Africa and Spain. This trip inspired numerous paintings, and “El Jaleo” is one of them. The title of this monumental painting refers to a Spanish Romani dance, which the painter may have seen during his trip. The pose of the woman is the same as in his earlier painting, “The Spanish Dancer” (1879-1880). 

 "The Spanish Dancer". John Singer Sargent

Sargent creates a vibrant and atmospheric setting for his main dancer by capturing the dramatic shadows made by the moving hands of the cheering onlookers. Various details, like the guitars on the wall, the trailing fringes of the shawls, and a single orange on the empty chair, immerse the viewer until one can almost hear the music. A lot of modern American art featuring Spanish dancers owes its inspiration to Sargent.

 

Sources:

https://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/mwebcgi/mweb?request=record;id=970;type=101

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lavery-le-mort-du-cygne-anna-pavlova-n03000

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/32592

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/scottish-pictures-l09686/lot.149.html

https://www.gardnermuseum.org/experience/collection/13259