Jean Target
Ballet Espagnol, Pilar Lopez
c.1955

About the Item

This artwork titled "Ballet Espagnol Pilar Lopez" c.1955 referring to the famous Spanish Flamenco dancer, Pilar Lopez, 1912-2008 is a pastel and crayon on paper by noted French artist Jean Target, 1910-1997 It is signed and titled at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork size is 12 x 9.75 inches, framed is 20.65 x 18.65 inches. it is beautifully custom framed in a wooden gold frame, with matting and gold color spacer. it is in excellent condition, the colors are fresh and bright. About the artist. Jean Target was born in France in 1910. From a very young age early on, he was impassioned by the two forms of art that would remain the focal point of his career for all his life: visual arts and performing arts. In the 30s and 40s, as a young man, Jean Target frequented the Parisian theaters and cabarets, just like his role model, the famous impressionist painter Toulouse Lautrec, did at the end of the 19th century. Jean became friends with many performers and captured many formal as well as candid depictions. He gained exclusive access and used this privilege to create art with unparalleled perspective as an insider to the seedy, dark, yet glamorous underworld of Parisian cabaret. He drew the dancers on-site, capturing the dancer’s movements in his immediately recognizable signature style. In the 40s and 50s, he continued his artistic career, gaining recognition among collectors in France and all over Europe. His work depicting the Parisian performing art scene captures the feeling and history of the the theater and golden age of cabaret in Paris. Jean Target continued to draw, paint and sculpt until his death in 1997. The work of Jean Target is held in collections and museums worldwide including the world renowned Victoria And Albert Museum in London. About the subject. Pilar López Júlvez (4 June 1912, San Sebastián – 25 March 2008, Madrid) was a Spanish choreographer and ballerina (bailaora). Encarnación López Júlvez (1898-1945), known as La Argentinita, was her older sister. Pilar López was admired for her Ballet Español. She had become famous as a flamenco dancer, among her extensive performance credits: the 1933 flamenco-inspired staging of Falla's ballet El Amor Brujo, and the 1952 film Duende y misterio del flamenco. The 1933 choreography for Falla's ballet, according to Antonio de Triana, was "achieved through a mingling of ideas and improvisations" in which Pilar joined her sister and others its creation. The innovative film had no plot, but featured fourteen segments each focused on a flamenco cante or palo. Here Pilar López danced with Alejandro Vega, doing la caña. After her sister's early death, Pilar formed her own flamenco dance company and mounted theatrical shows. She realized a continuing success. Many came to enjoy the well-crafted performances Yet during this era of ópera flamenco such shows seemed to direct their attention to audiences unfamiliar with flamenco. Accordingly, this era was also critiqued by some aficionados whose claim was their savoring of the fine points of the art. "Pilar's dancing is feminine and quietly moving". She also possessed a "talent for forming fine male dancers in her company". In the 1940s her dancers on tour included José Greco, before he formed his own company. Later she "strongly influenced the formation of... Antonio Gades" who, starting at age fifteen, toured with her troupe for eight years. In 1962 he was "appointed the first maestro and choreographer in the Scala of Milan". Acclaimed through "years of artistic success" Pilar and her husband Tomás Ríos, a musician and composer, resided in Madrid where they later retired. Awards National Amadeo Vives Choreography Award (1947). Two Silver Bowl awards in New York for the best Spanish dance interpreter. Gold Medal from the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid. Choreography Award (1954).

Creator:

Jean Target (1910 - 1997)

Creation Year:

c.1955

Dimensions:

Height: 20.65 in (52.46 cm)Width: 18.65 in (47.38 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor

Movement & Style:

Realist

Period:

Mid-20th Century