Art Review: Sculpture 'La Danse' by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

Sculpted from stone and measuring over 4 metres in height, 'La Danse' has immediate visual impact. Apart from mere size, the energy and sensuality of the composition invites closer investigation. 'La Danse' depicts a group of 6 women and a small child dancing in a circular motion around a central winged male figure, the Spirit of Dance.

The Spirit is leaping into the air with hands raised and holding a tambourine, often the percussion instrument associated with dance. He appears to be on a rapid downward movement since his hair is suspended vertically as if left behind by gravity. An air of ecstasy and complete abandonment is conveyed in the movement and facial expressions of the mostly nude figures. Sensuality, liveliness and spontaneity; it's about uninhibited expression and celebration of the human form using dance as the medium.

Movement is the most obvious theme in 'La Danse'. Angles created by the outward circular movement of the women, and the vertical movement of the Spirit at the centre, produces an upward spiralling effect. This symbolises freedom and the creative and uplifting nature of the human spirit. The unbalanced and ungrounded physical positions of the women, joined by their hands, confirm the necessity of movement to remain upright.

Dance being a basic and natural form of expression of human emotion is perhaps the reasoning behind Carpeaux's use of nudity in this work. Nineteenth century Parisian society was less than impressed initially with such a display of exhibitionism. His nudes were too realistic and were to become a cause for controversy and in this way contributing eventually to a cultural progression towards a more liberal society.

Carpeaux was a student of Francois Rude, neoclassic and romantic sculptor from Dijon. He was later influenced by Italian renaissance masters and was particularly intrigued by elements from the Baroque and Rococo periods. From these forms he borrowed the concept of using groups of humans, movement and spiral rhythm which are evident in 'La Danse'. 'La Danse' retains the grace of the neoclassical while pushing realism and representation of movement a step further with a new vibrant energy and portrayal of emotion. It's this combination that gives 'La Danse' its uniqueness; exhilarated and seductive grace.

The two main themes identified in this sculpture are movement and human spirit, and the vocabulary used to describe these two themes were chosen at first intuitively, and then modified following analysis of my visual and emotional reactions.

The level of energy, the type of movements and how the different types of movements interact are important to the understanding of the work. Human spirit can be written about in many ways, but the dominant aspects of the spirit in this work relate to natural and pure joy.

I love this sculpture for all the emotion it evokes which it achieves by creating a very optimistic and uplifting atmosphere. For me 'La Danse' is a perfect representation of dance and human creativity. It's a celebration of the performing arts as well as the visual arts and deserved its place at the Opera House in Paris.