Study of a Female Dancer

late 19th–early 20th century

Not on view

This expressive study captures a moment of physical and psychological release. The dancer leans back, head turned to the sky, and allows her weight to be supported by her unseen partner—a presence indicated only by the hand that grasps the woman’s right wrist. Greiner dedicated much of the sheet to the rendering of the dancer’s head: the contours of her profile, her closed eyes, her peaceful expression, and the light washing over her face. In the rough sketch at bottom, possibly a design for a calling card (complete with a street address), the artist drew the same figure again, this time with somewhat greater indication of her dance partner.

The drawing reflects the emergence in the early twentieth century of both modern dance and expressionism in the visual arts, each of which sought new ways to convey intense emotion and psychological interiority.

Artwork Details

Title: Study of a Female Dancer
Artist: Otto Greiner (German, Leipzig 1869–1916 Munich)
Date: late 19th–early 20th century
Medium: Black chalk and gouache
Dimensions: sheet: 12 3/16 x 9 11/16 in. (30.9 x 24.6 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, 2007
Object Number: 2007.99
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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In the same medium

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Sheet of studies for "Ex Libris Victor Graf von Rex", Otto Greiner German, Black ink on brown wove paper — Sheet of studies for "Ex Libris Victor Graf von Rex"
Otto Greiner
1900

Landscape with a Hunting Party, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek Dutch, Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite — Landscape with a Hunting Party
Barend Cornelis Koekkoek
19th century

The Connoisseur, Honoré Daumier French, Pen and ink, wash, watercolor, lithographic crayon, and gouache over black chalk on wove paper — The Connoisseur
Honoré Daumier
ca. 1860–65

A male and a female figures (study for 'Golgotha'), Otto Greiner German, Coloured chalks — A male and a female figures (study for 'Golgotha')
Otto Greiner
late 19th–early 20th century

Tobias Takes Leave of his Father, Carl Gottlieb Peschel German, Graphite — Tobias Takes Leave of his Father
Carl Gottlieb Peschel
1829

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