The Mazurka d'Extase from Aoline ou La Dryade. Illustrated music cover with Lucile Grahn and Jules Perrot, drawn and engraved by John Brandard, ca. 1845

A male and female dancer set in a gold lined frame. The man to the left has his head in profile looking at his partner; he stands on his left leg, the right pointed to the side, his right arm raised above his head, his left around the waist of the female figure who droops diagonally, eyes closed, arms loosely hanging, her feet pointed. He wears a red and black cap with a red ostrich feather and a square-necked, long-sleeved bodice with trunk hose, with white neck frill and sleeve puffs and red tights; the costume is decorated with red and black zig-zags. She wears a coronet of roses and leaves on her severely dressed hair; her off the shoulder dress has frill sleeves, a pointed bodice with belt, and a knee-length bell-shaped skirt; the dress is scattered all-over with ‘gold’ stars and edged with ‘gold’ ribbon; down the skirt is a diagonal swathe of roses, flowers and leaves and on the bodice and skirt are posies made up of the same flowers.

Bequeathed by Lady Mary Evans

The print shows Lucile Grahn and Jules Perrot in Perrot's ballet Eoline or The Dryad. The sensation of the ballet was the Mazurka d'Extase, which Grahn, as Eoline, danced with Perrot as Rubezahl, a gnome or demon; he makes Eoline dance with him against her will and the images of her show 'the despair with which she falls into the arms of her tormentor.'

In the second half of the 19th century, no self-respecting house was without a piano and a flourishing music publishing industry fed the need for new music. The covers were often decorated with lithographed images, which reflect many aspects of Victorian life and culture. Many performers had their images on related music sheets and so became familiar names to people who might never see them perform.

The ballet Eoline or The Dryad was choreographed by Jules Perrot to a score by Cesare Pugni. The sensation of the ballet was the Mazurka d'Extase, in which Perrot as the demon, Rubezahl, forced Grahn, as the wood nymph Eoline, to dance with him against her will and the print captures 'the despair with which she falls into the arms of her tormentor.'
In the second half of the 19th century, no self-respecting house was without a piano and a flourishing music publishing industry fed the need for new music. The covers were often decorated with lithographed images, which reflect many aspects of Victorian life and culture. Performers whose images appeared on related music sheets became familiar names to people who never saw them on stage.

S.2617-1986