Analysis Of Genius Of The Dance

Introduction Despite the brief dismantling of the Royal Academy during the French Revolution, art remained an extension of the power of the French State. During this time, regularly purchased art often favored that of its supported political objectives. However, through the Royal Academy, which had originally been founded by King Louis XIV, the state extended its reach to the official exhibitions (salons) to matters of style and subject matter through the École des Beaux Arts (Khan). Evolving from this, was one of the great state jewels of Napoleon III’s newly reconstructed city. The Paris Opera House (L’Opéra), designed by Charles Garnier was the “new cathedral of bourgeois…”(Khan). Commissioned of the Second Empire, this glittering

However, because this is a reduction of that piece, the sculpture has been taken out of its original context entirely. Placed atop a pedestal and surrounded by modern paintings within the DIA, Genius of the Dance becomes its own free standing work of art. It is here, that I began to realize how the context of an artwork can affect the viewers experience. Without prior knowledge of larger monumental stone sculpture, Genius of the Dance, is able to be viewed from all angles. Allowing viewers to walk around and experience the piece as a single composition. Likewise, because the piece is separated from the other figures and primarily focused on only one, viewers are also given the opportunity to appreciate Carpeauxs technique and rendition of a single figure without all of the other distractions (walls that prevent you from walking around it or nymph figures that draw your eye to more than one single moment) that may accompany it. Unfortunately, because the piece is taken out of its original context there are also a few downfalls. These include the opportunity to enjoy other moments of the piece such as, the nymphs who bring playfulness, energy and delicacy, the foliage of drapery and hair that bring a feeling of airiness, and finally the angelical wings that complete the central figure Dance. How would one even

The dimension of the artwork were also unavailable, and thus further complicating my comparison. If I were to guess, I would assume the figure to be fairly close to life-size. However, the proportions of both the génie and the child figure were somewhat inaccurate to the figures’ as a whole. This is especially true when viewing the figures next to each other without the nymphs blocking your view. The small child seems somewhat long and the feet of the allegorical figure appear to be somewhat smaller than what they should