Pierre Carrier-Belleuse
1851-1932 | French

Danseuse

Signed “Pierre Carrier-Belleuse” (lower right)
Pastel on canvas

Strikingly elegant, this extraordinary pastel by French impressionist Pierre Carrier-Belleuse displays the artist’s mastery of his medium and his fascination with the intimate and graceful world of the modern ballerina. Carrier-Belleuse captures this classic beauty posed in the fourth position and the playful puff of her tutu shimmers with an incandescent glow filling the center of the composition. This dancer is simultaneously graceful and accessible, as her soft features and alluring eyes draw in the viewer. Much like the work of Degas, Carrier-Belleuse’s dancers are depicted with a common beauty that is at once poetic and attainable. A master of the art of pastel, his works are highly collectible as stunning examples of the art of impressionism.

Born in 1851, Carrier-Belleuse was the son of the celebrated sculptor Albert Carrier-Belleuse, from whom he learned his artistic trade at a young age. He also studied under Alexandre Cabanel and Galland at the École des Beaux-Arts, and became a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon beginning in 1875. Successful during his lifetime, he received an honorable mention at the Salon in 1887 and earned a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889. He mastered the art of working with pastels and was best known for his scenes of ballet dancers, in addition to his popular landscapes, and historical and genre works.

Circa 1898

Frame: 52” high x 26 1/4” wide
Canvas: 45” high x 20” wide