Portrait of a Dancer (Mademoiselle Marie Sallé?)

Nicolas Lancret (French, 1690–1743)

about 1735

Medium/TechniqueOil on panel

DimensionsOverall: 27.9 x 33cm (11 x 13in.)
Framed: 46.4 x 51.4 x 7 cm (18 1/4 x 20 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.)

Credit LineBequest of Forsyth Wickes—The Forsyth Wickes Collection

Accession number65.2647

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

Lancret’s work was often inspired by the French stage. His many small portraits of actors and dancers were avidly collected by contemporaries. This sitter likely sits before a theatrical backdrop, showing her “well-turned ankle,” and may well be connected with the stage. Elaborately dressed, she bears a close resemblance to Mlle Marie Sallé (1707–1756), a dancer and choreographer whom Voltaire (1694–1778) praised for her expressive gracefulness. Like many of Lancret’s works, this painting is heavily influenced by the genre scenes of elegant figures in garden settings popularized by his contemporary Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721).

ProvenanceBefore 1937, Samuel Reading Bertron (b. 1865 - d. 1938), New York; by descent to his daughter, Elizabeth Bertron Fahnestock (Mrs. Wladimir W. Bouimistrow), New York and Paris [see note 1]. By 1937, Wildenstein and Co., New York [see note 2]; January 14, 1943, sold by Wildenstein to Forsyth Wickes (b. 1876 - d. 1964), Boston and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 8, 1969)

NOTES:
[1] The provenance information was provided by Wildenstein to Forsyth Wickes at the time of the painting's acquisition. The dealer listed "Mrs. S. Fahnestock" and "Mrs. W. Bouimistrow" separately, although they are the same individual. Elizabeth Bertron was the first wife of Snowden A. Fahnestock; in 1930 she married Wladimir (or Vladimir) Bouimistrow.

[2] It was lent by Wildenstein to "An Exhibition of French Paintings of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries," Cincinnati Art Museum, October 2 - November 7, 1937, no. 12.