James McNeill Whistler Loie Fuller dancing

Date 1892
Materials Pen and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions 20.9 cm x 31.9 cm
Marks None
Further information GLAHA 46173.
Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonne, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1995 (1346).

Note Loie Fuller was a dancer from San Francisco. One of her dance routines was called “Le Papillon”(The Butterfly), in which she swirled draperies around her body to make herself look like a butterfly, as we can see in these little drawings. The speed of Whistler’s pen marks suggest the energy and vigour of Loie’s dancing style. Also the series of sketches conveys an idea of the sequence of her movement. Notice that the central drawing shows her in shadow. She used complex lighting in order to enhance the dramatic effect of her performance. It is not surprising that Whistler was drawn to her dance routine, as he had earlier adopted a butterfly signature as his identifying mark. She was also admired by the Symbolists who believed dance to liberate the body.

Related works GLAHA 46136.