André Derain
The Dancer, c. 1910
Derain’s The Dancer shares a great deal with the Post-Impressionist interest in capturing a slice of modern life in Paris. Her pose, with crossed legs and upper body leaning forward, with that alluring and powerful gaze, raises the question of whether the figure was a dancer or actually something else entirely. It’s well known that dancers frequently supplemented their meager salaries by securing wealthy and influential “protectors.” Becoming a model offered an additional option, but was probably not as lucrative. The subject of prostitution was a popular one among Impressionist artists and was noted in works by many including Degas, Seurat, and Toulouse-Lautrec. The significance of this subject is well summarized in the catalogue for the exhibition at the Musee d’Orsay: Splendour and Misery: Pictures of Prostitution: “The metamorphosis of the body of the prostitute- ‘an object of public pleasure’-into a work of art to be viewed by all was effected through the artifices of seduction. Studied poses revitalized the repertoire of traditionally accepted forms in the academic register, and make-up (also described as ‘face paint’) and colored stockings were an excuse for a riot of colors in the paintings.” The idea suggested here is that the body of the prostitute could be depicted in a way (through pose, clothing, make-up) to enhance the figure’s power to provoke and seduce.