The Spirit of the Dance at The Musée d'Orsay, Paris

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(Spirit of) The Dance Artist Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875) Date 1869 Medium Terracotta Dimensions Height 420 cm Accession# RF 2884 Credit x In 1863, Charles Garnier commissioned four sculpted groups to decorate the Paris Opera facade. Four artists won the Grand Prix de Rome to create these groups. Carpeaux's task was to capture Dance in a sculpture. Over three years, he created various sketches and models before creating this turning farandole of women encircling the spirit of dance. The sculptor aimed to convey movement through circular and vertical motion. The leaping spirit dominates the group, urging on the circle of bacchantes in unbalanced postures. People were shocked by the realism of female nudes, judging them unseemly; a bottle of ink was thrown at the sculpture, and it was requested to be removed. However, the 1870 war and Carpeaux's death ended the controversy. Many faces and subjects in this piece were separated, cast, and sold separately due to its popular style in figurative sculpture. The bacchante on the left of the group was turned into a bust and can be seen here. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative that allows users to access free digital archives of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe. It's an open source community effort where people can contribute by emailing stw@myminifactory.com. Scanned using Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan).