Scène uit ballet Zélie of de toversluier 1865 - 1868

Charles Rochussen made this lithograph, titled 'Scene from the ballet Zélie or the Magic Veil,' in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-19th century. It depicts a group of women in a landscape, seemingly enacting a scene from a ballet. The image creates meaning through its references to the romantic ballet and its visual codes of femininity and grace. Ballets such as 'Zélie' were part of a wider popular culture, consumed by a broad public and often reflecting societal values and norms. The image is set against a backdrop of mountains and waterfalls, a common trope in Romantic art, representing the sublime power of nature. The women themselves are depicted in flowing gowns, their movements suggestive of a dreamlike state. To fully understand this artwork, one could delve into theatre history, study the cultural context of ballet in the Netherlands, and explore the social dynamics of the time. Art is not created in a vacuum; it's contingent on its social and institutional context.