Titeux Dancer
Athens, c. 375-350 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER (Dept of Greek and Roman Antiquities), CA 462

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda
The Titeux Dancer is named for the archaeologist who discovered her. The figure highlights an essential theme in ancient Greek art: the representation of the female form.
Unlike male figures, which were presented nude to emphasize their physique, women were traditionally shown clothed, emphasizing both their personal modesty, and the movement of the body. Hence, while the essential structure of male statues depends solely on the male anatomy, clothing is used to shape the female form.
Artists experimented with new ways to represent the interaction of the body with the fabric, and the different effects achieved by particular items of clothing. The Titeux Dancer wears a chiton, a tunic of fine linen fixed at the shoulders and falling in tightly-pleated folds. Over this, she wears a himation a cloak made from a length of wool draped freely around the body and, in this case, pulled up over the head to form a veil. Here, the himation creates a balanced, unified composition. The himation follows the figure's gestures, reinforcing the sense of movement. By contrast, a naked figure would appear static and fixed.
The movement is based on a composition of oblique lines. These run parallel to each other, and are echoed by the woman's garment. On the right-hand side of the figure we see the tension created by the contrasting oblique lines of the billowing drape. At the back, unhindered by the body, the cloak floats freely. Its rippling folds follow in the dancer's wake. The figure is centered on two main viewpoints, but the round base and the turning movement invite us to view it from every angle, including the back, which is fully modeled.
The body and its clothing are treated with apparent realism, yet the composition is carefully calculated to create a sense of balance based on the play of opposing lines, a characteristic technique of sculpture during the classical period (from 480 to 323 BC). The forward movement of the left leg is counterbalanced in the upper part of the figure, by the backward movement of the arm. On the other side, the forward movement of the arm is balanced by the position of the leg, which is invisible beneath the cloak and tunic.
The same effects of contrast and balance are seen on the two sides of the himation: oblique, straight lines on the left, rippling folds on the right. The overall sense of balance is reinforced by the harmonious relationship of the parts to the whole, the neatly-parted, symmetrical arrangement of the hair (the so-called “melon-rib” hairstyle), and the regular facial features.
This quest for harmony is a feature of Greek statuary, beginning in the middle of the 5th century BC. However, the use of effects of drapery to reveal the body reflects a new sensitivity to the representation of the human form in art, first seen just before 430 BC, on the Parthenon. The technique is characteristic of the emerging, so-called Mannerist style in ancient Greek art.
Mannerism enjoyed continued popularity in large-scale sculpture until around 370 BC. Many female statues show the same sensual representation of the body, revealed through floating, transparent drapery. This effect is known as 'draperie mouillée' (literally 'wet drapery)'. The play of folds, animated by the figures' lively movements, is a sculptural tour de force often enhanced by the use of color. Many Greek statues originally featured a polychrome finish. All that remains here, however, are traces of the white undercoat.
The statuette was made from a mold, allowing the sculptor to manufacture numerous identical figures, yet the Titeux Dancer remains the only known example of this particular type. However a large relief figure in the same pose is seen on a fragment of a carved frieze from the Acropolis, in Athens, and on this almond-shaped vase; this suggests that the dancer may have corresponded to a popular artistic type in widespread use, possibly from the end of the 5th century BC. Discover thechiton andhimation worn by the Titeux Dancer by clicking on the icons.

The Titeux Dancer wears a chiton, a tunic of fine linen fixed at the shoulders and falling in tightly-pleated folds. Over this, she wears a himation, – a cloak made from a length of wool draped freely around the body and, in this case, pulled up over the head to form a veil. Discover the oblique lines which define the statuette's movement by clicking on the icons.

On the right-hand side of the figure, we see the tension created by the contrasting oblique lines of the billowing drape. At the back, unhindered by the body, the cloak floats freely. Its rippling folds follow in the dancer's wake. Discover the effects created by the drapery by clicking on the icon.

The use of effects of drapery to reveal the body reflects a new sensitivity to the representation of the human form in art, first seen just before 430 BC, characteristic of the so-called Mannerist style. Discover the motif of the dancer on this almond-shaped vase.

The Dancer may have corresponded to a popular artistic type in widespread use. Aphrodite and two goddesses
Athens, east pediment of the Parthenon, 438-432 BC
H. : 1.30 m
Londres, British Museum
1816,0610.97



© Trustees of The British Museum Relief of Nymphs
Athens, 2nd century BC?
H. 46 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum, no. 6464
© Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund, Athens

Dancer?
Athens, east frieze of the Erechtheion, c. 410 BC
H. 35 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum, n° 1300
© Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Athen / Photo Gösta Hellner Almond-shaped plastic vase: nymph
Athens, c. 380-360 BC
H. 12.7 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNC 638


© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski chiton himation Oblique lines Rippling folds The body revealed by the drapery Almond-shaped plastic vase: nymph
Athens, c. 380-360 BC
H. 12.7 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNC 638

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Titeux Dancer
Athens, c. 375-350 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER (Dept of Greek and Roman Antiquities), CA 462

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda
Ancient Greek art makes no distinction between the representation of human figures, and the gods. In fact, both are often strikingly youthful, and the absence of recognizable attributes sometimes makes it difficult to identify a statue's subject with any certainty. Unlike other statuettes, the Dancer has no specific attributes: at first glance, the figure seems quite simply to represent a young woman performing a dance step. Does this movement tell us anything more about her?
Terracotta figures of veiled dancing women appeared in the 4th century BC, shortly after they were first depicted on red-figure vases. Unlike the Titeux Dancer, however, most of them are presented with the himation covering the mouth.
Some figures show the young woman uncovering her face, in a gesture reminiscent of anacalypsis, the moment when a Greek bride uncovered her face and entered the state of matrimony. This amphora shows the wedding of Ariadne and Dionysos: the young woman is unveiling her face, ready to be joined in marriage with the god.
The exact identity of the dancers remains unknown – are they brides, or dancers celebrating a marriage rite? The emphasis on the veil clearly refers to marriage – an important step in a woman's life, marking her passage from childhood to adulthood, the moment at which she assumed her husband's name and with it, the only official status to which she could aspire, beyond her original station as her father's daughter. As well as her uncovered mouth, another important feature distinguishes the Titeux Dancer from other terracotta figures of dancing women: her veil sits quite far back on her head, revealing her neatly-parted hair, while the other figures wear the himation pulled down over the forehead, hiding what appears to be a formal, ceremonial hairstyle.
Can dance also relate to other aspects of life?
Dance is synonymous with grace and harmony, as seen on this relief. Two dancers enveloped in the same 'wet-look' cloak are Eros, the son of Aphrodite, goddess of Love and Beauty.
Ancient texts are more explicit, linking dance with grace and beauty, as an integral part of Nature. Some of the lesser Greek gods, often interchangeably associated with natural abundance and fertility, are traditionally shown in the act of dancing. These include the Muses, the followers of Apollo, whom the poet Hesiod describes as dancing with delicate steps on the summit of Mount Helicon.
The same is also true of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons who presided over the cycle of crops and vegetation, symbolizing beauty, natural fertility and abundance.
The nymphs, daughters of Zeus, were also shown dancing together. The nymphs peopled the woods, countryside and waters. Their association with the god Pan – half man, half beast – reinforces their close relationship to the natural world.
This relief from the Acropolis in Athens shows two figures of draped women, identifiable thanks to another relief showing Pan seated in front of a nymph. The silhouette of the first figure is closely similar to that of the Titeux Dancer.
The place where the Titeux Dancer was discovered, at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, supports the association of the two figures. In fact, the Dancer was discovered in a trench dug in the immediate vicinity of a cave dedicated to the god Pan.
Compared with the maenads, the wild female dancers who were also associated with Pan, the nymphs are expressive of order and serenity. As personifications of nature's abundance and fertility, they were invoked to protect brides-to-be. The ancient Greek word numphe also indicated a young, unmarried girl. The Dancer may, then, represent a nymph. The statuette may have been left as an offering in the sanctuary of the god Pan.
Greek terracotta statuettes were frequently used for this purpose, or placed as offerings in tombs. Terracotta objects were inexpensive, and could be used by people from all levels of society, as religious offerings during festivals, or for specific gods or ceremonies, as thanks for answered prayers, or more often as a way of attracting divine favor, especially at important times such as weddings, or funerals.
The subjects of offerings such as these typically symbolize important rites of passage: little girls marked their passage into adult life by offering their dolls (or terracotta figurines in the image of dolls) to Artemis, the goddess of hunting. If the Titeux Dancer is indeed a nymph, she may have been left in the sanctuary of Pan as part of the preliminaries for a wedding ceremony, in the hope of attracting the blessing and protection of the gods, upon the future bride. Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of this veiled dancer.


Dancer
Boeotia, 400-350 BC
H. 21.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 2156

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of this amphora, which features Ariadne unveiling her face.


Black-figure amphora: wedding of Dionysos and Ariadne
Athens
Berlin Painter 1686
c. 540-530 BC
H. 33.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, F3

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Discover the Horae by clicking on the icons.

The Horae, the goddesses of the seasons, preside over the cycle of crops and vegetation, symbolizing beauty, natural fertility and abundance.


Pan and the Horae
Sparta or Megalopolis, 330-320 BC
H. 55 cm
Athens, National Archaeological Museum
MNA 1449

© Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund, Athens Contexts of documented discoveries of so-called "Tanagran" figures Dancer
Boeotia, 400-350 BC
H. 21.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 2156


© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Black-figure amphora: wedding of Dionysos and Ariadne
Athens, Berlin Painter 1686, c. 540-530 BC
H. 33.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, F3

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Dancer
Boeotia?, c. 350 BC
H. 24 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNC 730


© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Dancer
Boeotia?, c. 350 BC
H. 24 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNC 730

Dancer
Boeotia, 400-350 BC
H. 21.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 2156

© Photos RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Eros and two female dancers
Attica?, 350-300 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNB 809


© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Relief of Nymphs
Athens, 2nd century BC?
H. 46 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum, no. 6464

© Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund, Athens

Pan and a nymph
Athens, 2nd century BC
H. 61.5 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum, no 1345

© Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Athen Relief of Nymphs
Athens, 2nd century BC?
H. 46 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum,no. 6464

© Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund, Athens Virtual reconstruction of the interior of Tomb B at Myrina, with its offerings.
CGI
© DNP

Red-figure krater (detail): two statuettes left as offerings beneath a sacred fountain
Lucania, c. 390-380 BC
Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Dept of Coins, Medals and Antiquities,
Inv. 422

© Bibliothèque nationale de France The Horae The Horae The Horae Titeux Dancer
Athens, c. 375-350 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER (Dept of Greek and Roman Antiquities), CA 462

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda
The statuette was made in several stages, which we are able to retrace. From the late 6th century BC onwards, terracotta figurines were mostly made from molds. The first step in the process was the creation of a prototype, often based on a model, made from fresh clay. The resulting figure was solid rather than hollow, and was used to create the molds. There is no surviving prototype figure for the Titeux Dancer, but the statuette's basic model finds a number of echoes in Greek art.
Once the prototype figure is dry, it is coated with soft, malleable clay. Next, the coating is cut out around the silhouette of the figure, to create a so-called bivalve mold, in two halves: one for the front of the figure, known as the obverse, and one for the back, known as the reverse. Incisions are made in the outer edges of the molds, to help fit them together. The interior of the mold can be reworked with a tool, for more precise detail. The molds are then left to dry.
Where the prototype figure features prominent extremities, such as the head, arms or legs, these are cut away and cast separately in their own bivalve molds. After firing, the molds are extremely resistant, and can be used again and again.
In this way the coroplast can choose from a variety of molds for different parts of the body. Layers of fresh clay are applied to the inner surface of the mold and pressed down firmly to capture all the details. A fine roll of clay is placed at the junction of the two valves to help stick them together firmly. The Dancer's figure has no jutting forms, and only one bivalve mold was needed.
After the mold has been shut tight, the craftsman can begin to turn out the figure. The resulting sections, all of which are hollow and fragile, are assembled using a preparation of dilute clay. The statuette's details can be retouched using a fine tool. The joins are carefully smoothed, creating an invisible transition between the two halves of the finished statuette.
Other elements can be modeled separately and fixed using a preparation of dilute clay, which sets hard when fired. The Dancer has no such additions, however.
A hole is sometimes made in the back of the statuette, to help moisture from the fresh clay to evaporate, and to prevent the figure from becoming misshapen during firing. Known as a vent hole, this opening is also used to help assemble certain parts of the figure, such as the head or arms, from inside. There is no need for an extra hole in the figure of the Dancer, which already has an opening in its base. The statuette is then left to dry before being fired along with other figurines.
The mold-based technique enabled craftsmen to create mass-produced series of figures, with numerous variations, such as the position of the head, the accessories, or the position of the arms. Almost every aspect of the figure could be modified. Once a statuette was finished, it could be used as the basis for a new mold, and a new series of figures. There are no other known statuettes from the same series as the Dancer, however.
The polychrome finish, added once the figure had cooled, allowed craftsmen to obtain a variety of different effects. A preparatory layer of very pure, white clay (known as kaolinite) or calcium (known as calcite) was applied to the main areas of the surface, as seen in many places on the figure of the Dancer. Then the craftsman would outline important aspects of the decoration, such as bands of color on the clothing, using the stylus or a very fine brush.
The colors, most often obtained using natural pigments, were applied with a brush, in layers of varying thickness. The craftsman could create subtle new shades by mixing pigments or applying colors in successive, translucent layers. There are no traces of polychromy on the figure of the Dancer – the statuette's original surface seems to have been damaged when casts were taken from it in the 19th century.
Once the figure was dry, details such as the facial features, strands of hair, or folds in the clothing could be highlighted using fine colored lines. Touches of make-up add further refinement, together with gold, the ultimate luxury for a humble terracotta figure. Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of the mold used for the head of the statuette.


Mold of a woman's head with diadem and a modern cast
Smyrna? Myrina?
c. 150 BC
H. 7 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 949

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of the mold used for the body of the statuette.


Mold of a draped figure of a woman and a modern cast
Campania, 300-250 BC
H. 25 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CP 4850

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda Discover the common point between these statuettes by clicking on the icons.

The mold-based technique enabled craftsmen to create mass-produced series of figures, with numerous variations, such as the position of the head, the accessories, or the position of the arms. Almost every aspect of the figure could be modified.

Draped figures of women
Tanagra and Thebes, 330-200 BC

Draped woman and a half-kneeling figure of a girl
Young girl pouring a libation
Myrina, 325-250 BC
Paris, Musée du Louvre

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of the Woman in Blue, especially her polychrome finish.


Woman in Blue Tanagra
Tanagra, Workshop of the Woman in Blue
c. 330-300 BC
H. 32.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNB 907

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Using the magnifying glass, discover in details this head of a veiled woman.

Once the figure was dry, details such as the facial features, strands of hair, or folds in the clothing could be highlighted using fine colored lines. Touches of make-up add further refinement.


Veiled head of a woman
Myrina, 300-200 BC
H. 4.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, Myrina 1349

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda Relief of Nymphs
Athens, 2nd century BC?
H. 46 cm
Athens, Acropolis Museum, no. 6464

© Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund, Athens

Almond-shaped plastic vase: nymph
Athens, c. 380-360 BC
H. 12.7 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNC 638

© Photo RMN Hervé Lewandowski Mold of a draped figure of a woman and its modern cast
Campania, 300-250 BC
H. 25 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CP 4850

Bivalve mold of a seated figure of a boy
Tanagra, 330-200 BC
H. 12 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 631

Mold of a woman's head with diadem, and a modern cast
Smyrne? Myrina?, c. 150 BC
H. 7 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 949

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda Statuette 1 Statuette 2 Statuette 3 Statuette 4 Statuette 5 Titeux Dancer
Athens, c. 375-350 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER (Dept of Greek and Roman Antiquities), CA 462

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda
The Titeux Dancer is a perfect example of Greek statuary from the first quarter of the 4th century BC. She is also the product of a very specific craft, practiced by the so-called coroplasts of Athens. Athenian coroplasts specialized in the manufacture of terracotta figurines. In the early 4th century BC, they developed new motifs and techniques, which were to have an important influence on other centers of production.
Athens had been a key center for the production of art and crafts since the Archaic period, especially the manufacture of red-figure and black-figure vases, which were exported to Greek cities throughout the Mediterranean, along well-established trade routes.
Red-figure vases declined in popularity at the end of the 5th century BC, however. A new category of so-called 'plastic vases' or sculptural vases appeared, paving the way for widespread exports of terracotta objects at the beginning of the 4th century BC. The relief sections, created using molds, were first used for additional sculptural elements on vases. Later, they became terracotta figurines in their own right. These were often used to create new molds, spreading their motifs and forms over a wide geographical area.
This group features a flat reverse, and a wide opening, indicating that it may have been intended for a vase.
The iconographical repertoire now embraced the world of Aphrodite, with a new sensitivity to individual destiny.
New subjects began to appear. The Greek theater was a major source of inspiration, especially the comedies of Aristophanes, with their stock characters drawn from everyday life. The new figurines show a desire for realism, and a fervent cult worshipping the god of theater, Dionysos. The expanding repertoire brought important technical innovations, too: the backs of the figures, which had previously consisted of flat, unmodeled clay plaques, were now molded, a technique which may have been borrowed from contemporary bronze-working.
The back of the Titeux Dancer is modeled, reflecting this technical innovation. Dance is a recurrent theme on red-figure vases and, later, plastic vases such as this: the three-dimensional statuette perfectly embodies the theme of dance. From the middle of the 4th century BC, the sculptural forms of the dancer are seen in finely detailed statuettes, most often representing draped figures of young women.
This new style, which originated in Athens and quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean basin, is known today as the Tanagra style, for the small Boeotian city where thousands of these terracotta figurines were discovered, from 1870 onwards.
The Dancer is a forerunner of the Tanagra style, one of a group of so-called pre-Tanagran figurines which were exported along the same trade routes as Greek terracotta vases. New routes were opening up to the east, and so the dancers were soon to be found throughout the Mediterranean basin, either imported or in the form of locally-made copies. Tanagra figures mirrored the expansion of the Greek world, and followed the trade routes established in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Discover the various elements of this plastic vase.

The relief sections, created using molds, were first used for additional sculptural elements on vases. Later, they became terracotta figurines in their own right.


Plastic lekythos: Leda and the Swan
Athens
Athens, workshop of the Berlin Painter
c. 375-350 BC
H. 24 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 1131

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of this group called Eros and two dancers.

This group features a flat reverse, and a relatively wide opening, indicating that it may have been intended for a vase.


Eros and two female dancers
Attica, 350-300 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNB 809

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Discover the back of this object.

The backs of the figures, which had previously consisted of flat, unmodeled clay plaques, were now molded, a technique which may have been borrowed from contemporary bronze-working.


Actor playing a slave (hands tied behind his back)
Attica?, Tanagra ?
400-375 av. J.-C.
H. 5.5 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, CA 1816

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Using the magnifying glass, discover the details of this draped figure of a woman.

From the middle of the 4th century BC, the sculptural forms of the dancer are seen in finely detailed statuettes, most often representing draped figures of young women.


Draped woman
Athens
c. 330-300 BC
H. 12.4 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNB 1156

© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Eros and two female dancers (back)
Attica?, 350-300 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER, MNB 809



© Photo RMN / Hervé Lewandowski Plastic œnochoe: dancer
Athens, c. 400-375 BC
H. 17 cm
Compiègne, Musée Vivenel
Inv. 1996.116



© Compiègne, musée Vivenel Titeux Dancer
Athens, c. 375-350 BC
H. 21 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
AGER (Dept of Greek and Roman Antiquities), CA 462

© Photo RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda
The Dancer entered the collections of the Louvre in 1891. Today, the statuette is displayed in a case made for the Musée Charles X in 1827. The figure was presented to the Louvre by the sculptor Pierre-Jules Cavelier, the creator of the stucco decorations on the Mollien staircase, which was inaugurated in 1857.
As he recalls in a letter dated July 22, Cavelier received the figure as a gift from the man who originally discovered it, the architect Philippe-Auguste Titeux.
The two men were students at the French Academy in Rome from 1843 until Titeux's death, which occurred in 1846 after a six-month stay in Greece. At the age of 34, Titeux had obtained permission to dig in Athens, in search of new artifacts to study and restore. But while carrying out excavations at the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis, Titeux fell ill and died. It seems likely that the Dancer was uncovered during these excavations.
According to the archaeologist Léon Heuzey, the Dancer (owned by the sculptor Pierre-Jules Cavelier) “was greatly appreciated by his intimate circle of friends and pupils, at his Paris studio. Casts were quickly taken, and reproductions circulated from friend to friend, so that soon, no one knew the whereabouts of the original.” Heuzey rediscovered the original statuette at Cavelier’s studio in 1884. He also wrote the first documented study of the Dancer, in 1892. His description testifies to the popularity of the Dancer in the artistic milieu, even before it joined the collections of the Louvre and reached a wider public. In the late 19th century, artists drew heavily on Antique models which were not known to the public, favoring the emergence of a new taste for the art of ancient Greece and Rome.
One example of this phenomenon is a plaster statuette owned by Ingres, which became the model for a large-scale figure of a muse. The proliferation of copies also testifies to the scant attention paid at the time to the surface of Antique works of art. The copies were probably made using impressions taken directly from the original figurine, robbing it of any surviving traces of color.
In addition to the plaster casts, copies in 'imitation bronze or ivory', and terracotta reproductions spotted by Léon Heuzey in the studios and potteries at Vallauris, were soon in widespread circulation. Hence the mirror image of the Dancer's silhouette in this portrait of Adrien Dubouché, the director of the Limoges porcelain factory, painted by Lafond in 1881.
The image of the Dancer became increasingly familiar, and was used as the basis for large-scale sculptures such as this Dancer by Joseph von Kopff, created in 1862, and now in the Hermitage Museum, in St Petersburg.
The Dancer became still more famous after 1870, when hundreds of terracotta figurines were discovered at the ancient city of Tanagra in Boeotia. The statuettes sold quickly on the international art market, and the name Tanagra became associated with any figure of a similar style. The Titeux Dancer was found in Athens, but was quickly associated with the other finds, becoming the most celebrated ‘Tanagra’ figure of the 19th century.
The size and production techniques of the Greek figurines were perfectly suited to the growing taste for small ornaments and mass-produced objects shown by the increasingly industrialized, bourgeois society of the day. Their decorative qualities were soon appreciated and valued far above their authentic, ancient origins. In this painting, we see the Dancer displayed on top of a piano. The figure may be a copy of the Greek original, or a contemporary version inspired by the Titeux Dancer, but its interest here is solely as an attractive, lively visual accompaniment to the instrument's music.
Works by master glass-makers such as Daum, or ceramic artists such as Théodore Deck (seen here) featured more or less faithful reproductions of the Dancer, with decorative colors, in a range of materials, all destined for the mantelpiece or the collector's cabinet.
Besides copies and reproductions of all kinds, the Dancer also inspired other avenues of research. The American choreographer Loïe Fuller sought to reincarnate the dancers of ancient Greece. The pose she adopts here, for the photographer Benjamin Falk, is curiously similar to that of the Dancer, although not identical.
Loïe Fuller was a source of inspiration for the sculptor Auguste Rodin, for whom the representation of movement was a key concern. Rodin described Fuller's dancing as “Tanagras in action”. This watercolor develops a new set of imagery: a distant echo of the Tanagra figures, of which Rodin was a collector.
Statuettes of dancers were in fact less common among the finds at Tanagra than straightforward, draped figures of women. However, the dancers were more in keeping with the characteristic eroticism of mainstream 19th-century European art. Hence the inclusion of a dancing statuette in this allegorical figure of Tanagra, by the painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme. At her feet, we see an archaeologist's pick and, once again, emerging from the ground, the silhouette of the Titeux Dancer.
This allegorical personification contributed to the spread of a false image of ancient Greek art, which was developed further by the artist in later works. The naked woman holding the statuette corresponds to no known statue type from the ancient world, but reflects a distinctly 19th-century ideal of beauty. The statue also appears in a painting by Gérôme, in which an unlikely female craftworker is seen coloring dancers with hoops, while a sales assistant worthy of one of Paris's great 19th-century department stores chats with female clients dressed like Tanagra figures. Arranged on a shelf in the background, reproductions of statuettes feature revealing clothes and wild, over-stated movements, reflecting19th-century tastes rather than the appearance of original Tanagra figures.
The extraordinary craze for Tanagra figures in the late 19th-century was based on fanciful images of the ancient Greek world. But it all began some two-and-half thousand years ago, with the crafting of the mysterious figure of the Titeux Dancer. The letter written by Pierre-Jules Cavelier

Letter from Pierre-Jules Cavelier
Dated July 22, 1891
Paris, Archives des Musées Nationaux
[A8-1891 08/08]

Archives des Musées Nationaux, Paris Discover the silhouette of the Titeux Dancer in this painting by clicking on the icon.

The mirror image of the Dancer's silhouette can be seen in this portrait of Adrien Dubouché, the director of the Limoges porcelain factory.

Alexandre LAFOND
Portrait of Adrien Dubouché
1881
H. 133 cm ; W. 93 cm
Limoges, Musée National Adrien Dubouché
ADL 10026

© Limoges, Musée National Adrien Dubouché / Photo H. Maertens Discover the silhouette of the Titeux Dancer in this painting by clicking on the icon.

In this painting, we see the Dancer displayed on top of a piano. The figure may be a copy of the Greek original, or a contemporary version inspired by the Titeux Dancer, but its interest here is solely as an attractive, lively visual accompaniment to the instrument's music.

François GAUZI
Young Woman at the Piano
1904
H. 65 cm, W. 54 cm
Toulouse, Musée des Augustins
RO 1035

© Toulouse, Musée des Augustins / Photo STC - Mairie de Toulouse Discover the various elements of the painting by Gérôme by clicking on the icons.

The statue also appears in a painting by Gérôme, in which an unlikely female craftworker is seen coloring dancers with hoops, while a sales assistant worthy of one of Paris's great 19th-century department stores chats with female clients dressed like Tanagra figures. Arranged on a shelf in the background, reproductions of statuettes feature revealing clothes and wild, over-stated movements, reflecting19th-century tastes rather than the appearance of original Tanagra figures.

Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Antique Pottery Painter: Sculpturae Vitam Insufflat Pictura
1893
H. 50.1 cm ; W. 68.8 cm
Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario
Inv. acc. N° 69/31

© Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Pierre DUPUIS
Portrait of the Sculptor Cavelier
H. 180 cm ; W. 82 cm
Marseille, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Inv. BA 657

© Marseille, Musée des Beaux-Arts

Musée du Louvre
Mollien Staircase

© RMN / René-Gabriel Ojéda / Thierry Le Mage Letter from Pierre-Jules Cavelier
Dated July 22, 1891
Paris, Archives des Musées Nationaux
[A8-1891 08/08]

© Archives des Musées Nationaux, Paris

Victor-François-Eloi BIENNOURY
Portrait of the Architect Philippe-Auguste Titeux(detail)
1842-1843
Oil on canvas, 47 x 37 cm
French Academy in Rome
Villa Medici
Inv. AFR P139

© French Academy in Rome, Villa Medici Alexandre LAFOND
Portrait of Adrien Dubouché
1881
H. 133 cm ; W. 93 cm
Limoges, Musée National Adrien Dubouché
ADL 10026


© Limoges, Musée National Adrien Dubouché / Photo H. Maertens Ernest von WILDENBRUCH
Le Maître de Tanagra
1898
Paris, Librairie Nilson

© DR

'Tanagra' brand cigarette box
H. 7 cm ; W. 8,4 cm
Paris, private collection

© 2007 Musée du Louvre / Angèle Dequier François GAUZI
Young Woman at the Piano
1904
H. 65 cm ; W. 54 cm
Toulouse, Musée des Augustins
RO 1035

© Toulouse, Musée des Augustins / Photo STC - Mairie de Toulouse Théodore DECK
Danseuse Titeux
Before 1891
H. 20 cm
Sèvres, Musée National de Céramique
Inv. 15035


© Photo RMN / Martine Beck-Coppola Benjamin FALK
Loïe Fuller Posing for 'Salomé'
C. 1896
H. 22 cm, photomechanical print
Paris, Musée Rodin
NR1736


© Musée Rodin, Paris Benjamin FALK
Loïe Fuller Posing for 'Salomé'
C. 1896
H. 22 cm, photomechanical print
Paris, Musée Rodin
NR1736

© Musée Rodin, Paris

Auguste RODIN
Naked Woman with Swirling Veils
C. 1890?
H. 17.5 cm
Paris, Musée Rodin
D4309

© Musée Rodin / ADAGP, Paris / Photo Jean de Calan Tanagra by Gérôme Saleswoman Craftworker and dancers with hoop Statuettes