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And Jephthah’s Daughter Danced
There is a nameless young girl in the Old Testament whose joyful dancing results in an unimaginable tragedy. I am, of course, referring to the daughter of Jephthah. Jephthah’s story is related in the Book of Judges. The tale is intricate but fundamentally involves the mighty warrior, Jephthah, who, just before going to war against… Read more
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More Elegant Dancers in Palatial Gardens
An anonymous 15th-century Flemish artist painted an intriguing painting showing elegant Burgundian nobles socialising in a splendid garden. The painting, Jardin d’amour à la cour Phillippe III le Bon, is shrouded in mystery. The original work has been lost. There are, however, two reproductions. Neither reproduction has been attributed to a specific artist. Scholars are… Read more
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Elegant Dancers in Palatial Gardens
In the 16th and 17th centuries, genre paintings featuring dancing peasants were enormously popular in the Low Countries. The Peasant Dance and The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder are iconic. Artworks depicting the dancing elite, nonetheless, were equally in demand. Dutch and Flemish artists depicted elegant couples dancing in courtyards, banquet halls, and… Read more
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How Danceth the Foolish Virgin?
Dance is not mentioned in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, yet 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish artists include dance scenes in their representation of the biblical story. This post aims to discover how and why these artists depicted dancers. (1) Images of the wise and foolish virgins enhance illustrated manuscripts. These… Read more
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Dance Images – Curious, Commonplace, & Captivating
Dance images are not the exclusive domain of paintings. In my exploration of artworks, I discovered dance images in diverse places. Join me on my journey that will look at curious, commonplace, and captivating items created from a variety of materials and using distinctive techniques. One common factor binds the artworks/artefacts: each, in some manner,… Read more
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When the Organ Man comes to Town
The street organ is a common sight in Amsterdam, or any other Dutch city, for that matter. These large, colourful barrel organs play tunes ranging from typical Dutch melodies to the latest popular hits. The music is always loud. An organ man invariably rattles a copper coin tray, enticing those who walk by to drop… Read more
14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 21st century Adriaen Brouwer Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne Adriaen van Ostade Albrecht Dürer Alma-Tadema art Arthurian Legends Bal des Ardents ballet Bergen School Bernard Picart Burgundian Court CoBrA Constant Cornelis Dusart Cornelis Massijs Crispijn de Passe the Elder dance Dance/Dancers Dance around the Golden Calf dancers David Ryckaert III David Teniers the Younger David Vinckboons De Stijl Egg dance Else Berg Erhard Schön Flemish Art Frans Francken II Frans Huysmans George Hendrik Breitner Gertrud Leistikow Gillis Mostaert Hans Bol Harmen Meurs Henri Braakensiek Herman Bieling Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Francken the Younger illuminated manuscript Isaac Israels Isaac van Ostade Jacob Grimmer Jacob Savery I Jacobus van Looy Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Mandijn & followers Jan Miense Molenaer Jan Sierhuis Jan Sluijters Jan Steen Jean-Baptiste Vanmour Jean de Wavrin Jean Froissart Johan Dijkstra Karel Appel Karel van Mander Kees Maks Kees van Dongen Leo Gestel Loyset Liédet Lucas van Valckenborch Maarten van Heemskerck Maastricht Hours Maerten de Vos Marius Bauer Marten van Cleve Mommie Schwarz Paolo Fiammingo/Pauwels Franck Pieter Aertsen Pieter Balten/Peeter Baltens Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Brueghel the Younger Pieter Codde Pieter de Bloot Pieter van der Borcht Pieter van der Heyden Piet Mondrian Piet van der Hem Romance of Alexander Roman de la Rose Rothschild Canticles Salome Sebald Beham Simon Bening Stallman Pim Tango Theo van Doesburg Vincent van Gogh Willem de Zwart Willy Sluiter
About me
As a young aspiring dancer I loved to ponder over the magnificent paintings created by Edgar Degas. How his ballerinas inspired me. The atmosphere of the Paris Opera, the beautiful tutus and the hard working dancers never failed to trigger my imagination. As the years past, I retained my love of dance, of Degas, of art, and developed an interest in knowing more about the cross fertilization between art and dance.
DANCE IMAGES IN THE ART OF THE NETHERLANDS 