Dancers at the Moulin Rouge
About this artwork
This drawing dates from a trip that Melville made to Paris in 1889 to see the Exposition Universelle, a huge world fair held on the anniversary of the French Revolution. In October 1889, the Moulin Rouge first opened to the public and it was probably then that Melville made this sketch of the dancers. The drawing belongs to a set of several small watercolour sketches that he made of the can-can dancers. They were a popular subject with French artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec. The sketches have a vivid sense of immediacy. Melville captures the whirling petticoats and high-kicking legs of the dancers on stage bathed in brightly coloured lights.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:Dancers at the Moulin Rouge
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date created:1889
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materials:Watercolour on paper
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measurements:9.20 x 15.10 cm (framed: 58.90 x 43.70 cm)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1995
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accession number:D 5402
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gallery:View by Appointment
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subject:
Arthur Melville
Arthur Melville
Melville's travels in Europe and the Middle East inspired his vibrant paintings in oil and watercolour. He developed a distinctive technique of watercolour painting, described as 'blottesque', using dabs of pigment on wet paper and blotting them with a sponge. Melville, born in Angus, studied painting in Edinburgh before moving…
