Dancers as Orientals 1735 - 1745

These delicate porcelain figurines, crafted by Villeroy around 1745, depict dancers in what was then perceived as Oriental style. The figures, frozen mid-gesture with hands shielding their eyes, evoke a sense of looking towards a distant horizon. This hand-to-brow gesture is not merely a practical action; it is laden with centuries of symbolic weight. Consider similar poses in ancient Egyptian art, where pharaohs gaze into the afterlife, or in Renaissance depictions of explorers charting new worlds. The gesture speaks of vision, anticipation, and the yearning to bridge the gap between the known and the unknown. Here, in these dancers, it hints at the exotic allure and mystery that the 'Orient' held for 18th-century Europeans, inviting viewers to engage with the collective dream-image of faraway lands. The emotional power lies in our subconscious recognition of this timeless gesture, connecting us to a shared human desire to see beyond our immediate reality. The dancers become symbols, embodying a non-linear progression, of cultural fascination and aspiration.