Man in aanbidding voor zijn geliefde ballerina 1892

Henri-Gabriel Ibels created this print of a man in adoration of his beloved ballerina with lithography. Ibels made this print in France, in a period when Parisian artists were fascinated by dance culture and performers. Many artists, like Ibels, depicted dancers as idealized figures. Here we see a male figure kneeling, with his head tilted upwards. This is juxtaposed with the ballerina, who gazes down at him. This creates a visual hierarchy, with the ballerina positioned as a remote, almost divine figure, and the man as her humble supplicant. The print accompanied a longer poem about this relationship between a man and a dancer. To understand Ibels’s work better, we can research French literary culture and theatre culture, and the social dynamics of artistic circles. Paying attention to the historical context helps us understand the public role of art at that time.