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Spanish Dance. (El Jaleo de Cadix.) (sic)
Currier - N. - Enlarge image
Spanish Dance. (El Jaleo de Cadix.) (sic)
- Object:
Print
- Place of origin:
New York (printed and published)
- Date:
mid 19th century (published)
- Artist/Maker:
Currier - N. (publisher)
- Materials and Techniques:
Lithograph coloured by hand
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Lady Mary Evans
- Museum number:
S.2606-1986
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Throughout the 19th century, national dance, characteristic of a particular country or region, became a popular part of theatre and dance entertainments. Britain became more consciousness of Spain and Spanish customs following the war against Napoleon in the Iberian peninsular between 1807 and 1812 and Spanish dances were often incorporated into ballets in the 1830s and 1840s.
Even without the title, the dancers can be identified as Spanish by the characteristic hairstyles, the hair pulled back into a knot covered with frills, and, of course, by the castanets. Once native Spanish dancers began to perform throughout Europe in the 1840s, it appears that they adopted the bell-shaped full skirt with flounces and fringes, worn by ballerinas in Spanish-style solos.
