Emma Livry as Farfalla in Le Papillon
Figure
1861 (made)
1861 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This figurine by Jean Auguste Barre (1811-1896) represents the young French ballerina Emma Livry (1842-1863) as Le Papillon (The Butterfly). Livry, one of the last Romantic ballerinas, trained at the Paris Opera, and later under one of the greatest Romantic dancers Marie Taglioni, who saw in her the ethereal lightness for which she herself was famous. At sixteen Livry appeared in the title role of La Sylphide, the role originally created for her mentor. In 1860 Taglioni choreographed Le Papillon for Livry, a ballet in which a girl is turned into a butterfly by an evil fairy. The spell is eventually broken after she is attracted to a flame which burns her wings.
Tragically the plot of the ballet foreshadowed Emma Livry's death at the age of twenty from burns sustained after her dress caught fire during a rehearsal in November 1862 of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici. In her day the stage was illuminated by gas jet footlights that made performance dangerous. Fabric could be fireproofed, but Livry, like many dancers, did not like this as it made the fabric stiff and less ethereal on stage. She suffered for months but died the following July in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Tragically the plot of the ballet foreshadowed Emma Livry's death at the age of twenty from burns sustained after her dress caught fire during a rehearsal in November 1862 of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici. In her day the stage was illuminated by gas jet footlights that made performance dangerous. Fabric could be fireproofed, but Livry, like many dancers, did not like this as it made the fabric stiff and less ethereal on stage. She suffered for months but died the following July in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Emma Livry as Farfalla in <i>Le Papillon</i> (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Hard paste porcelain painted in colours |
| Brief description | Figure modelled by Jean Auguste Barre of Emma Livry (1842-1863) as Farfalla in Le Papillon, ballet choreographed by Marie Taglioni, music by Jacques Offenbach, Paris Opera 16 November 1860. French hard-paste porcelain painted in colours, 1861. |
| Physical description | Full length female dancer standing barefoot on multicolored floral base supported on the tip of her left foot, the right leg raised behind with slightly bent knee; the arms are curved above her head, which is inclined to the right, and on the crown of the head lies a small blue triangular headdress. The knee-length white dress is studded with gold stars, with, short loose sleeves and a low frilled neck; under the bust fits a pale blue bodice with deep V front, with, down centre front, blue oval mounted 'jewels' with smaller jewels to either side around which is 'laced' gold cord; a short white overskirt with blue veins, simulating butterfly wings, fits over the side hips. From the back spring butterfly wings in white with blue veins, spotted gold. French hard-paste porcelain painted in colours. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest |
| Object history | Taglioni choreographed her only ballet Le Papillon for her protegee and pupil, Emma Livry. By 1860, ballet had been in decline for a decade and Taglioni hoped that it would be revitalised by the young dancer, and that a French dancer would be developed to rival the great Italian virtuosi of the period. Tragically, Livry died in 1863 of burns sustained when her dress caught fire in 1862 during a rehearsal for another ballet. She was twenty years old. The figure came to the Museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest. |
| Historical context | In 1937 Jean August Barre had also sculpted Marie Taglioni in the title role of La Sylphide. A bronze of this is in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This figurine by Jean Auguste Barre (1811-1896) represents the young French ballerina Emma Livry (1842-1863) as Le Papillon (The Butterfly). Livry, one of the last Romantic ballerinas, trained at the Paris Opera, and later under one of the greatest Romantic dancers Marie Taglioni, who saw in her the ethereal lightness for which she herself was famous. At sixteen Livry appeared in the title role of La Sylphide, the role originally created for her mentor. In 1860 Taglioni choreographed Le Papillon for Livry, a ballet in which a girl is turned into a butterfly by an evil fairy. The spell is eventually broken after she is attracted to a flame which burns her wings. Tragically the plot of the ballet foreshadowed Emma Livry's death at the age of twenty from burns sustained after her dress caught fire during a rehearsal in November 1862 of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici. In her day the stage was illuminated by gas jet footlights that made performance dangerous. Fabric could be fireproofed, but Livry, like many dancers, did not like this as it made the fabric stiff and less ethereal on stage. She suffered for months but died the following July in Neuilly-sur-Seine. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.868-1981 |
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| Record created | November 12, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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