Artwork
Melle Marquet,
Melle Marquet, is a print by the Impressionist artist Marie-Alexandre Alophe. It dates from 1860 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Melle Marquet, dans le ballet du Dieu et la bayadère is a print depicting a dancer in a stylized, hybrid costume blending Indian and 19th-century ballet elements.
Subject & Meaning
The subject, a bayadère (Indian temple dancer), wears a costume that synthesizes Indian influences (overbodice, jewellery) with traditional ballet attire (pointed bodice, bell-shaped skirt), creating a recognizable 'Indian' stage persona for contemporary audiences.
Technique & Style
The print may originate from a photograph, later translated into a lithograph to allow for larger size and hand colouring, overcoming the limitations of small, sepia-toned early photographs.
History & Provenance
Part of the series Les Danseuses de l'Opera, this print postdates 1860, reflecting the era's integration of photography into commercial art reproduction.
Context
Created in a time when photography's technical constraints (size, tonal range) drove the use of lithography for wider, more vibrant dissemination of images.
Artist & collection
Artist
French lithographer who printed theater stars on silky paper in the 1860s. His prints capture ballerinas in *La Sylphide* and *Marco Spada*, Mademoiselle Fiocre in a Florentine drama, and Mademoiselle Plunkett twirling…
