Dancing women – Alméry Lobel-Riche, 1915

Dancing Demi-Mondaines, drypoint etching made in 1915 by Alméry Lobel-Riche. Signed in pencil lower left beneath the image. Size (plate mark): 35 × 25 cm.

Two women whirl across the dance floor in an intimate movement, their bodies pressed sensuously close together. They are fashionably yet slightly provocatively dressed. The dancer seen from the back wears short trousers with stockings, a sailor shirt, and a small hat— a playful, somewhat androgynous outfit that was popular in the Parisian nightlife of the early twentieth century.

The scene appears to depict a tango as it was performed in Parisian cabarets around 1913-1915, a dance that in these years symbolized modernity, sensuality, and a cosmopolitan culture of entertainment. IIn the background of the dance hall, men in top hats and elegantly dressed women are engaged in conversation.

The drypoint technique gives the image a characteristic velvety line. Alméry Lobel-Riche (1877-1950) works with strong dark passages in the clothing and lively, spontaneous lines in the contours of the bodies. The sketch-like treatment enhances the vibrancy of the scene and evokes the bustling atmosphere of the Parisian night.

With prints such as this, Lobel-Riche captured the lively and slightly decadent demi-monde: a world of cabarets, dance halls, and nocturnal encounters in which amusement, eroticism, and modern urban pleasures came together.

Price: Euro 650,-