''La danse'' (also known as ''Bacchante'') is an oil painting created circa 1906 by the French artist and theorist

Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...

(1883–1956). ''Bacchante'' is a pre-

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

or Proto-Cubist work executed in a highly personal Divisionist style during the height of the Fauve period. ''Bacchante'' was painted in Paris at a time when Metzinger and

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...

painted portraits of one another, exhibiting together at the Salon d'Automne and the Berthe Weill gallery. ''Bacchante'' was exhibited in Paris during the spring of 1907 at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name i ...

(No. 3460), along with '' Coucher de soleil'' and four other works by Metzinger. The painting was purchased by the art historian and collector Wilhelm Uhde and formed part of his collection until it was sequestered by the French government just before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. By 30 May 1921 ''Bacchante'' was owned by the French painter

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...

. The painting appeared at the auction house

Hôtel Drouot Hôtel Drouot is a large auction venue in Paris, known for fine art, antiques, and antiquities. It consists of 16 halls hosting 70 independent auction firms, which operate under the umbrella grouping of Drouot. The firm's main location, called D ...

where it was presumably purchased by Kröller-Müller, and published in ''Catalogue of the paintings in the collection of

Helene Kröller-Müller Helene Emma Laura Juliane Kröller-Müller (; ; 11 February 1869 – 14 December 1939) was a German art collector. She was one of the first European women to put together a major art collection. She is credited with being one of the first coll ...

''. The painting forms part of the permanent collection of the

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

.Joann Moser, 1985, Jean Metzinger in Retrospect, ''Pre-Cubist Works, 1904-1909'', The University of Iowa Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Trust, University of Washington Press, pp. 34, 35

Description

''La danse (Bacchante)'' is an oil painting on canvas with dimensions . The work represents a nude woman in a composition that contains a wide variety of exotic geometrized elements. Metzinger's bold use of color characteristic of his work between 1904 and 1907 is highly noticeable in ''Bacchante''. His brushstrokes are practically all the same size but their directions and colors vary giving rhythm to the overall work. The

depth of field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the farthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus (optics), focus in an image captured with a camera. See also the closely related depth of focus. Factors affecting depth ...

is flattened; the foreground blending in with background components. The subject matter is classical—reminiscent of

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

(an artist Metzinger greatly admired)—yet its treatment is everything but classical. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres - The Spring - Google Art Project 2

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres - The Spring - Google Art Project 2

This early work in the Divisionist style represents a Bacchante (or

maenads In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the ''thiasus''. Their name, which comes from :wikt:μαίνομαι#Ancient Greek, μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to ...

). In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, ''maenads'' were the female followers of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

(Bacchus in the Roman pantheon), the most significant members of the

Thiasus In Greek mythology and religion, the ''thiasus'' was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival in the form of a procession. The grandest such version wa ...

. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus (also known as Bacchus) into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken

intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine i ...

. In this state they would lose all self-control, begin shouting excitedly, and engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior. Many artists chose this subject over the centuries, probably due to these dramatic characteristics. Her body is depicted nude, seen from the front, with yellow and white highlights and turquoise reflections, the mythological reference serving as pretext for the nude. She is the primary subject of the work and is framed in an exotic setting that accentuates the arching curve of her back. She has a "deep voluptuousness," as in the works of Ingres (to use the term of Baudelaire), yet her timeless immobility makes her somehow chaste. The scene is seemingly calm and luxurious simultaneously. Metzinger's early quest for a 'total image' explains the lack of illusory depth, the profuse light, and the refusal to depict a marked difference between the foreground, background and the woman's frame. Metzinger added a conspicuously tropical setting presumably under the influence of

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

's ''Mahana no atua, Day of the Gods'' (1894) or Henri (lLe Douanier) Rousseau's ''Le Rêve'' (two more painters the artist greatly admired). ''Bacchante'' is already typical of Metzinger's style, with its sumptuous textures, sinuous harmony of line (for example the arching trees and foliage), and depiction of the serene attitude and chaste sensuality of the Bacchante's body—all enlisted in Metzinger's quest for absolute perfection.

History

In 1903 Jean Metzinger arrived in Paris (Montmartre) where he would reside until 1912. At this time he exhibited at the

and shortly after at the gallery of Berthe Weill, with

Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...

(1903–1904), with

(early 1907), with Marie Laurencin (1908) and later with

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...

Georges Rouault Georges-Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris - 13 February 1958, Paris) was a French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born into a poor famil ...

Kees van Dongen Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...

(1910). At Weill's gallery he met

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic c ...

(1907), who introduced him to

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic g ...

, and Guillaume Krotowsky, who already signed his works

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

.Daniel Robbins, ''Jean Metzinger: At the Center of Cubism'', 1985, Jean Metzinger in Retrospect, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Trust, University of Washington Press, pp. 9-23 In 1908 Metzinger participated in a group exhibition at Wilhelm Uhde's gallery on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs with

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (; 14 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist born to Jewish parents, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in the Russian Empire, now Ukraine, and was formally trained in Russia and Germany, be ...

Auguste Herbin Auguste Herbin (29 April 1882 – 31 January 1960) was a French Painting, painter of modern art. He is best known for his Cubism, Cubist and abstract art, abstract paintings consisting of colorful Geometry, geometric figures. He co-founded the gr ...

Jules Pascin Julius Mordecai Pincas (March 31, 1885 – June 2, 1930), known as Pascin (, erroneously or ), Jules Pascin, also known as the "Prince of Montparnasse", was a Bulgarian artist of the School of Paris, known for his paintings and drawings. He ...

and

. In the spring of 1906

exhibited his works for the first time at the Salon des Indépendants. At the exhibition of 1907 six paintings by Braque were exhibited. Five were purchased by Wilhelm Uhde. The sixth work was presumably bought by the art dealer Kahnweiler.Kubisme.info, Salon des Indépendants
/ref> It was around this time that Braque first met Kahnweiler and was introduced to

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

by Guillaume Apollinaire. Braques works were still Fauve in nature. It wasn't until the autumn of 1907 at L’Estaque that Braque began his transition away from bright hues to more subdued colors, possibly as a result of the memorial exhibition of Cézanne's work at the Salon d'Automne of 1907. It is unclear exactly when Uhde purchased ''Bacchante'', but it is probable that Metzinger and Uhde first met circa 1906, around the time Delaunay painted a portrait of Uhde in the same style as Metzinger's ''Bacchante''. At the outbreak of

, the possessions of many German nationals living in France were sequestered by the French state. Uhde's collection in 1914 included works by

, Marie Laurencin,

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

(of which ''Bacchante''),

Jean Puy Jean Puy (; 8 November 1876 in Roanne, Loire – 6 March 1960 in Roanne) was a French Fauvist artist. Life and work He studied architecture at the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and painting with Jean-Paul Laurens at l'Académie Juli ...

and

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Gug ...

. These works were confiscated by the French state and sold seven years later at the auction house

in Paris 30 May 1921. The Kröller-Müller Museum listed

in the provenance of this painting (Paris, 30 May 1921).

Parallel to literature

's 1905–06

Fauvist Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

- divisionist technique had its parallel in literature. For him, there was an emblematic alliance between the

Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

writers and

Neo-Impressionism Neo-Impressionism is a term coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat's most renowned masterpiece, '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'', marked the begin ...

. Each brushstroke of color was equivalent to a word or 'syllable'. Together the cubes of pigments formed sentences or 'phrases', translating various emotions. This is an important aspect of Metzinger's work of this period, his proto-Cubist work, and an important aspect of Metzinger's entire artistic output (as a painter, writer, poet, and theorist). Prior to the advent of Cubism Metzinger coupled Symbolist/Neo-Impressionist color theory with Cézannian perspective, beyond the preoccupations of

Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, with Georges Seurat, helped develop the artistic technique Pointillism. Biography Paul-Victor-Jules Signac was born in Paris on ...

and

Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross (; 20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910), born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix (), was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase ...

, and beyond too the preoccupations of his immediate entourage.Robert L. Herbert, 1968, Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York

"I ask of divided brushwork not the objective rendering of light, but iridescence and certain aspects of color still foreign to painting. I make a kind of chromatic versification and for syllables I use strokes which, variable in quantity, cannot differ in dimension without modifying the rhythm of a pictorial phraseology destined to translate the diverse emotions aroused by nature." (Metzinger, 1907)

"What Metzinger meant" writes art historian Robert L. Herbert, "is that each little tile of pigment has two lives: it exists as a plane where mere size and direction are fundamental to the rhythm of the painting and, secondly, it also has color which can vary independently of size and placement." (Herbert, 1968)Jean Metzinger, ca. 1907, quoted in Georges Desvallières, ''La Grande Revue'', vol. 124, 1907, as cited in Robert L. Herbert, 1968, Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York Furthermore, each individual square of pigment associated with another of similar shape and color to form a group; each grouping of color juxtaposed with an adjacent collection of differing colors; just as syllables combine to form sentences, and sentences combine to form paragraphs, and so on. Now, the same concept formerly related to color has been adapted to form. Each individual facet associated with another adjacent shape form a group; each grouping juxtaposed with an adjacent collection of facets connect or become associated with a larger organization—just as the association of syllables combine to form sentences, and sentences combine to form paragraphs, and so on—forming what Metzinger described as the 'total image'.

"Artists of the years 1910-1914, including Mondrian and Kandinsky as well as the Cubists", writes Robert Herbert, "took support from one of its central principles: that line and color have the ability to communicate certain emotions to the observer, independently of natural form." He continues, "Neo-Impressionist color theory had an important heir in the person of Robert Delaunay. He had been a Neo-Impressionist in the Fauve period, and knew intimately the writings of Signac and Henry. His famous solar discs of 1912 and 1913 are descended from the Neo-Impressionists' concentration upon the decomposition of spectral light."

The height of Metzinger's Neo-Impressionist work was in 1906 and 1907, when he and Delaunay painted portraits of one another in prominent rectangles of pigment. In the sky of Metzinger's ''

Coucher de soleil no. 1 ''Coucher de soleil no. 1'' (also called ''Landscape'', ''Paysage'', ''Landschap'', or ''Sunset No. 1'') is an oil painting created circa 1906 by the French artist and theorist Jean Metzinger (1883–1956). ''Coucher de soleil no. 1'' is a work e ...

'', 1906–1907 (Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller), is the solar disk which Delaunay was later (during his Cubist and Orphist phases) to make into a personal emblem. The vibrating image of the sun in Metzinger's painting, and so too of Delaunay's ''Paysage au disque'', "is an homage to the decomposition of spectral light that lay at the heart of Neo-Impressionist color theory..." (Herbert, 1968) (See, Jean Metzinger, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo) Metzinger, followed closely by Delaunay—the two often painting together in 1906 and 1907—would develop a new style of Neo-Impressionism incorporating large cubic brushstrokes within highly geometrized compositions that had great significance shortly thereafter within the context of their Cubist works. Both

Gino Severini Gino Severini (7 April 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an Italian Painting, painter and a leading member of the Futurism (art), Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classici ...

and

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

developed a similar mosaic-like Cubo-Divisionist technique between 1909 and 1911. The

Futurists Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

later (1911–1916) would incorporate the style, under the influence of

's Parisian works, into their 'dynamic' paintings and sculpture.

Cubes

At the

of 1906 the elected members of the hanging committee included Matisse, Signac and Metzinger. Following the Salon d'Automne of 1905 which marked the beginning of Fauvism, the Salon des Indépendants of 1906 marked the first time all the Fauves would exhibit together. The centerpiece of the exhibition was Matisse's monumental ''

Le Bonheur de Vivre ''Le bonheur de vivre'' (''The Joy of Life'') is a painting by Henri Matisse. Along with Picasso's '' Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'', ''Le bonheur de vivre'' is regarded as one of the pillars of early modernism. The monumental canvas was first exh ...

(The Joy of Life)''. Russell T. Clement, ''Les Fauves: A sourcebook'', Greenwood Press
, 1994 The triangular composition is closely related to Cézanne's Bathers; a series that would soon become a source of inspiration for Picasso's

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (''The Young Ladies of Avignon'', originally titled ''The Brothel of Avignon'') is a large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it portrays f ...

. Critics were horrified by the flatness, bright colors, eclectic style and mixed technique of ''Le Bonheur de Vivre''. Both

and

between 1905 and 1907 painted in a Divisionist style with large squares or rectangular planes of color (see also Two Nudes in an Exotic Landscape). Writing about the 1906 Salon des Indépendants, the art critic Louis Chassevent set the two apart from other Fauves and Neo-Impressionists. His use of the term "cube" to describe their work would later be taken up by

Louis Vauxcelles Louis Vauxcelles (; born Louis Meyer; 1 January 187021 July 1943) was a French art critic. He is credited with coining the terms ''Fauvism'' (1905) and ''Cubism'' (1908). He used several pseudonyms in various publications: Pinturrichio, Vasari, ...

to baptize Cubism. Chassevent writes: :"M. Metzinger is a mosaicist like M. Signac but he brings more precision to the cutting of his cubes of color which appear to have been fabricate by machine ...Daniel Robbins, 1964, ''Albert Gleizes 1881 – 1953, A Retrospective Exhibition'', Published by The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, in collaboration with Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund
/ref> The following year, Metzinger and Delaunay, with whom he shared an exhibition at Berthe Weill's gallery in 1907, were singled out by

as Divisionists who used large, mosaic-like 'cubes' to construct small but highly symbolic compositions.Art of the 20th Century
/ref> One and a half years later, November 1908, Vauxcelles, in his brief review of Georges Braque's exhibition at Kahnweiler's gallery, called Braque a daring man who despises form, "reducing everything, places and a figures and houses, to geometric schemas, to cubes.Alex Danchev, ''Georges Braques: A Life'', Arcade Publishing, 15 nov. 2005
/ref>

References

External links

Jean Metzinger Catalogue Raisonné entry page for ''La danse, Bacchante''

Jean Metzinger: Divisionism, Cubism, Neoclassicism and Post Cubism

Agence Photographique de la Réunion des musées nationaux et du Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danse, Bacchante Paintings by Jean Metzinger Proto-Cubist paintings 1906 paintings Nude paintings of women 20th-century portraits Portraits of women Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum Dance in art Mythology in art