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Nicolas Lancret (artist) French, 1690 - 1743 La Camargo Dancing, c. 1730 oil on canvas Overall: 76.2 x 106.7 cm (30 x 42 in.) framed: 107.3 x 135.9 x 9.2 cm (42 1/4 x 53 1/2 x 3 5/8 in.) Andrew W. Mellon Collection 1937.1.89 |
Object 5 of 9
Of the artists who followed Watteau's lead, Lancret was the most talented and inventive. More a rival than an imitator, he was admitted to the Academy as a painter of fêtes galantesbut also produced historical and religious paintings—and portraits, especially of actors and dancers.
In this inspired hybrid Lancret set such a portrait within the elegant garden of a fête galante. As if spotlit, the famous dancer La Camargo shares a pas de deux with her partner Laval. They are framed by lush foliage, which seems to echo their movements. Marie-Cuppi de Camargo (1710–1770) was widely praised for her sensitive ear for music, her airiness, and her strength. Voltaire likened her leaps to those of nymphs. Fashions and hairstyles were named after her, and her real contributions to dance were substantial. She was the first to shorten her skirts so that complicated steps could be fully appreciated, and some think she invented toe shoes.
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