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Lot Essay
The second quarter of the nineteenth century was the Golden Age of the Romantic ballet, and it flourished especially at the Paris Opera under the directorship of Dr Louis Véron and his successors from 1830 to 1854. The two great stars of the 1830s were the Swedish-Italian Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) and the Austrian Fanny Elssler (1810-1884). They are shown here in their most celebrated roles, the ethereal Taglioni as La Sylphide, the passionate Elssler as Florinda, dancing the Cachucha in Le Diable Boiteux.
These two bronzes of her famous contemporaries almost certainly belonged to Pauline Duvernay, a principal dancer at the Paris Opera from 1831 to 1837. Once seen as a rival to Taglioni, she resigned in 1837 to live with, and eventually marry, a wealthy Englishman, Stephens Lyne Stephens.
These two bronzes of her famous contemporaries almost certainly belonged to Pauline Duvernay, a principal dancer at the Paris Opera from 1831 to 1837. Once seen as a rival to Taglioni, she resigned in 1837 to live with, and eventually marry, a wealthy Englishman, Stephens Lyne Stephens.