La Camargo Dancing
Nicolas Lancret·c. 1730
Historical Context
Lancret's La Camargo Dancing from around 1730 depicts Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo, one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the eighteenth century, in the kind of performance image that documented the careers of the period's star entertainers. Camargo was famous for shortening her skirt to reveal her feet and ankles during her ballet performances — an innovation that allowed audiences to appreciate her exceptional footwork and that became both a fashion trend and a subject of moral controversy. Lancret's portrait-document of the dancing star connects the visual culture of the Rococo to the theatrical culture of the Paris Opera, both spheres where the same aristocratic patrons commanded the display of female beauty and grace.
Technical Analysis
Lancret renders the dancer with fluid, dynamic brushwork that captures the movement of the performance. The outdoor setting reflects the period's practice of performing in garden theaters. The palette is warm and luminous, with the dancer's costume rendered in bright, contrasting colors that draw the eye. The surrounding figures create a stage-like frame for the central performance.
Provenance
Friedrich II, King of Prussia [1712-1786], Potsdam; by descent in the Hohenzollern family to Kaiser Wilhelm II [1859-1941] Berlin;[1] sold December 1927 through (Hugo Moser, Berlin) to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); purchased April 1928 by Andrew W. Mellon [1855-1937], Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 1 May 1937 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[2] gift 1937 to NGA. [1] Inv. no. GK I 5297, Generalkatalog of the imperial collection, compiled in the late 19th century; this information was kindly provided by Dr. Christoph M. Vogtherr, curator of paintings, Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam, 13 April 1999, letter to Nancy Yeide (NGA curatorial files). The provenance to Prince Carignan and Count von Rothenburg published in _The Rococo Age_, exh. cat., High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1983, no. 43, is incorrect since the painting once belonging to the Prince was of smaller dimensions than the NGA painting. The two paintings purchased by Count von Rothenburg from Prince Carignan for Frederick II were not identified in the letter of 1744 in which they were mentioned. [2] The Duveen Brothers Records document the company's acquisition of some of Kaiser Wilhelm II's paintings (Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, accession no. 960015, reel 96, box 241, folder 1; copies in NGA curatorial files). On 25 November 1927 the Paris office wrote to New York: "The majority of the Emperor's castles with their contents were taken over by the State... The Government allowed the Kaiser to retain certain pictures as being his own personal property, and these he has the right to sell." On December 5 the Paris office cabled New York that Duveen's offer for the Lancret and another painting had been accepted, and on December 13 Paris reported that the paintings had been delivered safely. The Lancret was then shipped to New York by steamer on 8 February 1928. The Mellon purchase date and the date deeded to the Mellon Trust are according to Mellon collection records in NGA curatorial files and David Finley's notebook (donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1977, now in the Gallery Archives).
