Not on display

The Love Song

Photograph
1932 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This press photograph shows Adeline Genée and Anton Dolin posed on stage with baskets of flowers after their dance, The Love Song, performed in Copenhagen during the visit of the English Ballet Company organised by Genée in September 1932.

The Love Song, inspired by an 18th century painting of the same title by Arthur Devis, was created by Genée for a charity matinée at Drury Lane on 7 June 1932, and was performed to period dances - pavane, minuet, passpied, galliard and rigaudon - arranged by Dora Bright:

‘The curtain rose to reveal the old-world interior, with its spinet of white, lacquer-red and gold…where in an eighteenth-century gown of shot silk, she sat with her Cavalier, dressed in rococo costume and powdered wig, standing behind her chair and offering her the music of a love song. With Anton Dolin she danced the coquettish pavane with lively expression, and then, with buoyant rhythmic steps, fluttering fan and rustling silk gown, she trod the stately measures of a minuet and with unforgettable style and feminine gesture held out her hand for her cavalier to kiss.’

The following year Genée and Dolin danced The Love Song for a short season at the London Coliseum.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Love Song (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photograph
Brief description
Photograph of Anton Dolin and Adeline Genée in The Love Song, Copenhagen, 1932
Physical description
Photograph showing a man and a woman in theatrical 18th-century dress. The woman sits on a chair, the man stands, leaning his left arm on the back of the chair. They look at each other. The man holds a musical score in his right hand. There is a large floral arrangement in the lower right hand corner of the photograph.
Dimensions
  • Height: 24.3cm
  • Width: 18cm
Marks and inscriptions
Credit line
Given by the estate of Mary Clarke
Object history
Acquired as part of the Mary Clarke Collection, THM/462.
Summary
This press photograph shows Adeline Genée and Anton Dolin posed on stage with baskets of flowers after their dance, The Love Song, performed in Copenhagen during the visit of the English Ballet Company organised by Genée in September 1932.

The Love Song, inspired by an 18th century painting of the same title by Arthur Devis, was created by Genée for a charity matinée at Drury Lane on 7 June 1932, and was performed to period dances - pavane, minuet, passpied, galliard and rigaudon - arranged by Dora Bright:

‘The curtain rose to reveal the old-world interior, with its spinet of white, lacquer-red and gold…where in an eighteenth-century gown of shot silk, she sat with her Cavalier, dressed in rococo costume and powdered wig, standing behind her chair and offering her the music of a love song. With Anton Dolin she danced the coquettish pavane with lively expression, and then, with buoyant rhythmic steps, fluttering fan and rustling silk gown, she trod the stately measures of a minuet and with unforgettable style and feminine gesture held out her hand for her cavalier to kiss.’

The following year Genée and Dolin danced The Love Song for a short season at the London Coliseum.

Other number
THM/462 - V&A Archive number
Collection
Accession number
S.478-2021

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Record createdMay 22, 2021
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