Grotesque Dancer, from the Dancing Women series (N186) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This chromolithograph, printed by Wm. S. Kimball & Co., presents a dancer adorned with insect-like wings and garb. Butterflies, bees, and moths - these winged creatures have fluttered through human imagination for centuries. Our dancer’s costume evokes the transformative power of metamorphosis; recall Apuleius's tale of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche, driven by jealousy, betrays Cupid's trust and is tasked with seemingly impossible tasks, amongst which is gathering golden fleece from dangerous, sun-grazing sheep. She contemplates suicide, but is saved by a talking reed, and the God Pan, who encourage her to face the challenges. Just as Psyche's journey leads to rebirth, so too might our dancer’s grotesque display signify a ritualistic transition, a shedding of one form for another. But there is an eerie undercurrent here, a reminder that even the most graceful transformation can carry a hint of the uncanny, tapping into our deepest fears and fascinations. The dancer, frozen mid-flight, becomes a potent symbol of life's ever-changing dance, forever caught between beauty and the grotesque.