Artwork Page for La Saltarelle

Details / Information for La Saltarelle

La Saltarelle

1800s

Dominque Louis Papety

(French, 1815–1849)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
watercolor and gouache with selective gum glazing over a faint graphite underdrawing
Support
Heavyweight cream wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 25.4 x 35.7 cm (10 x 14 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2010.171
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

During the 15th century, La Saltarelle was a popular Neapolitan court dance named for its particular leaping step, after the Italian verb saltare (to jump). Lively and merry, it was played in a fast triple meter. In the 19th century, the saltarello was featured in the Carnival celebrations preceding Lent in Rome. After witnessing the Roman Carnival of 1831, the German composer Felix Mendelssohn incorporated the dance into the finale of one of his masterpieces, the Italian Symphony.
A horizontally oriented watercolor painting depicts six light-skinned figures on a sunny terrace under a grape arbor. On our left, a woman in a green skirt holds a tambourine for a child, while another woman leans behind. Centrally, a man in a pointed hat and a woman in a purple skirt dance. To our right, a man reclines on a bench with a glass. Grapevines with dark fruit hang from a wooden trellis above.

La Saltarelle

1800s

Dominque Louis Papety

(French, 1815–1849)
France, 19th century

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