Lot Essay
The subject that Robert Henri chose for La Madrilenita is Josefa Cruz, a young dancer from Madrid. She had all the attributes that would appeal to Henri in his quest to capture a captivating personality. Henri described her in a letter to a friend: "She is a young girl, born and raised as a dancer (that is, she is the niece of the celebrated teacher of dancing, Cansino of Madrid). Cansino trained her in the old dances of Spain. Although very young, she was already a very remarkable dancer at the time the painting was done, and it seemed to me she had in her carriage at all time much of the spirit and dignity of old Spain." (V.A. Leeds, "The Portraits of Robert Henri" in My People: The Portraits of Robert Henri, Seattle, Washington, 1994, p. 29) In this particular version of the dancer, she "appears pensive and slightly mysterious, and a sense of intimacy is apparent that is absent from the larger portraits." (V.A. Leeds, "The Portraits of Robert Henri" p.29)