''La Danse'' is an 1868 sculpture by the French artist

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux en ...

. It was one of four sculptural groups made from Echaillon marble that decorate the façade of the

Opera Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

in Paris, two to either side of the entrance at ground level. The work was installed in 1869, and widely criticised as obscene. It was attacked in August 1869 when an anonymous vandal threw black ink over it. The scandal subsided after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, and the original statue remained on the façade at the opera until it was transferred to the Louvre Museum in 1964 and replaced by a copy. The original was moved to the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

in 1986. Carpeaux was commissioned by his friend Charles Garnier to make a group based on the dance of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. The sculpture comprises several human figures, for which Carpeaux made numerous sketches over three years, using actresses and dancers from the

Palais-Royale The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal ...

as models. At the centre of the group, a garlanded young man with wings smiles as he holds aloft a tambourine while several women dance around him. It includes sculptural groups '' L'Amour à la folie''. Carpeaux left out certain ideas, including a bacchante with lowered eyes (model held by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York). Carpeaux completed a final model and the full-size statue in 1868, and it was unveiled at the Opera in July 1869. The unashamed nakedness of the figures, situated outdoors in full public view, provoked an immediate negative reaction, with some saying it would now be impossible for respectable women and girls to come to the Opera. The statue was attacked on the night of 27–28 August 1869, when black ink was thrown over the statue. The Opera considered moving the statue inside, but that was opposed by the

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

. The scandal reached such a level

Charles Gumery Charles-Alphonse-Achille Guméry (14 June 1827 – 19 January 1871) was a French sculptor working in an academic realist manner in Paris. Several of his figures ornament the Opéra Garnier most notoriously the group ''La Danse'', which was com ...

was commissioned to make a replacement (his gilded sculptures of ''L'Harmonie'' and '' La Poésie'' already crown the Opera's end pavilions). The issue was forgotten after the Franco-Prussian War broke out in July 1870, and Gumery died during the Siege of Paris. Carpeaux's work remained in place after his death in 1875, and Gumery's replacement is held by the

Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers The Musée des beaux-arts d'Angers is a museum of art located in a mansion, the "logis Barrault", place Saint-Éloi near the historic city of Angers. Building The museum is part of the Toussaint complex, which includes the garden of Fine Arts, ...

. A 42-inch bronze cast reproduction of Carpeaux's ''Genius of the Dance'', the central figure of ''La Danse'', was acquired by the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

in 1983 for the museum's French galleries. Carpeaux's original sculpture was moved to the Louvre Museum in 1964 to protect it from pollution, and it was replaced on the façade of the Opera Garnier by a copy made by

Jean Juge Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

. The original was moved to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986. File:Detall3 òpera de parís.jpg, Sculpture at the Opéra Garnier File:Opéra Garnier facade with sculpture labels.jpg, Façade of the Opéra Garnier, with sculpture labels

References

''Partially based on the corresponding article in French Wikipedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Danse, La 1868 sculptures Sculptures in Paris Obscenity controversies in sculpture Vandalized works of art Dance in art Musical instruments in art