Ballet Beauties No 2.
1850
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1850
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Ballet Beauties No 2. is a 1850 by Aubril, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This 1870s print shows ballet dancers the way people imagined them back then. It’s part of a series, not copied from real dancers—just the idea of “ballet.” The dancer wears a classic look: tight bodice, layers of tarlatan skirt, and a rose in her hair. The rose and castanets hint she’s dancing a Spanish number. That Spanish touch makes the picture feel like a little stage moment. Check out Aubril next.
The print depicts a ballet dancer posed en pointe on her left foot, her right leg extended forward with pointed toes, her body in profile to the right. She holds castanets in her hands, with her right arm curved over her head and her left arm at waist level, while a rose adorns her waved hair on the left side. Her attire consists of a blue short-sleeved bodice with a white frilled neckline, a white skirt with a bow at the waist and deep hem frill topped with a blue ribbon, extending below the knee. The dancer's Spanish dance is indicated by the castanets and the rose in her hair.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Aubril made small prints of ballet dancers in the late 1800s, when Paris stages were full of swirling skirts and gaslight glamour.
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