Jean-Auguste Barre, French, 1811-1896, Fanny Elssler

'One of the most successful attempts to have been made in miniature sculpture has been inspired by the loveliest of all ballerinas who have ever trodden the boards of the Opera'. (Théophile Gautier, La Charte de 1830, November 1836).

Barre has shown Elssler in her most famous role, dancing the Cachucha, the stylised Spanish dance, inserted into the ballet Le Diable boiteux. In the winter of 1836 Elssler was seriously ill and there was much concern for her life. It seems possible that this may have motivated Barre to produce his model of the ballerina.  Gautier continued his praise of Barre's statuette: 'He has succeeded beyond measure in conveying all the provocative decorum that resides in the bend of the body, all the suppleness of the shoulder movements, the ardour in the legs, the soft curves of the neck. As for the statuette itself and its detailed execution, it is quite beyond reproach and of excellent workmanship.'

Another example of this model was sold in Sothebys London, 27th April 2001 for £15,000 (lot 245).