Female Actor in Ballet Costume
Drawing with a design for a female ballet costume, consisting of a highly ornamented dress with vegetal motifs. The bodice of the dress is made up of strips with gems and stylized leaves, bordered by a garland of flowers and leaves. The skirt has two layers: an outer, irregular one, short on the front and long on the back, with stylized, scrolling acanthus leaves, and with ruffles on the border; the second layer of the skirt is decorated with vertical strips of stylized acanthus leaves, separated by thinner, vertical garlands with flowers and leaves, ending on separated panels, bordered by a stripe with gems and cartouches, and a lower layer of ruffles. The white underskirt has a v-shaped collar with a thin garland of flowers and leaves, and puff sleeves covering the elbows, which open up to form ruffled bell-shapes around the elbows, separated from the upper sleeves by cuffs with gems. A crown with stylized leaves and a rich bundle of large, scrolling feathers, from which hang strips of veil behind the back, adorns the head. Two laces are tied with bows around the wrists, and castanets are held in the hands, which are open to the sides. A square-toed shoe with stylized leaves peeks out from the bottom of the skirt.
Artwork Details
- Title: Female Actor in Ballet Costume
- Artist: After (?) Jean Berain (French, Saint-Mihiel 1640–1711 Paris)
- Date: n.d.
- Medium: Pen and black ink over chalk
- Dimensions: 17 1/4 x 11 7/8 in. (43.8 x 30.2 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
- Object Number: 63.562.11
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Jean Berain
n.d.
Jean Berain
[1659]
Jean Berain
1655–1711
Multiple artists/makers
1655–1711
Jean Berain
ca. 1687
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