Danseuse et admirateur derrière la scène 1903

Editor: This is Jean-Louis Forain's "Danseuse et admirateur derri\u00e8re la sc\u00e8ne" from 1903, made with gouache. The backstage scene almost feels like a casual snapshot, but the contrast between the dancer and the admirer in a suit is quite striking. What can you tell us about this piece? Curator: Consider the gouache itself. It's an opaque medium, lending to the flattening of space, pushing forward the themes of spectacle and artifice inherent in the theatre. It wasn’t just about depicting the leisure of the wealthy. It was, I think, about showing how that wealth was actively constructed through the exploitation, often, of female labor. What do you make of the admirer’s gaze and how it directs the viewer’s attention? Editor: It’s a very critical gaze. He's scrutinizing. Do you mean to say Forain critiques this social dynamic through the very materials and process of his work? Curator: Precisely! The “quick” nature of gouache sketches actually serves to highlight the often brutal and hurried nature of labor and exploitation. Forain doesn’t shy away from the material conditions that allow this interaction between spectator and performer to exist, underlining, really, the politics of viewing and being viewed. The soft pinks of the tulle juxtapose ironically with this. It makes the costuming seem flimsy, constructed. Editor: So it's less about celebrating the spectacle and more about exposing the power dynamics at play behind the scenes, making visible a social critique? I hadn't considered the materiality in this way before. Curator: Indeed. By foregrounding the material elements, we understand art making, or dance performance, not as transcendent events but as socially produced labour. It certainly enriches my view. Editor: I’ll never look at Impressionist paintings the same way again.