The Sword Dance

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The Sword Dance (4 variations)
ArtistHenryk Siemiradzki
Year1881—1898
MediumOil on canvas

The Sword Dance (Polish: Taniec wśród mieczów) is a 19th-century painting series by the Polish painter Henryk Siemiradzki. It is also known as Dance Amongst Daggers and Dance Amongst Swords, among other names.

Description[edit]

The paintings all depict a nude woman who dances between swords that are placed on the ground, while a group of women play music and a few men watch. The setting is Italian, and there have been several interpretations of what exactly the painting depicts.[1]

Variations[edit]

Siemiradzki made four versions, each with a slightly different composition and colour scheme. One of the versions, originally commissioned by K. T. Soldatenkov, is located at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Another version was sold at auction in 2011 for 2,098,500 dollars, which was the new record for a Siemiradzki painting.[1][2] The record was held until 2013, when Un naufragé mendiant was sold for 1,082,500 Pound sterling.[2][3] All are painted with oil paint on canvas.

Galler[edit]

No. year size Museum/collection image
1. 1881 120 x 225 cm Tretyakov Gallery
2. 1881 56.5 x 102 cm private collection
3. 1887 77 x 155 cm private collection
4. unknown unknown private collection[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Henryk Siemiradzki: The Sword Dance". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  2. ^ a b Micińska, Ania (2013-11-26). "Siemiradzki Skyrockets in London". Culture.pl. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  3. ^ "Henri Ippolitovich Semiradsky: Un naufragé mendiant". Sotheby's. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  4. ^ "Działania MKiDN ws. Obrazu Siemiradzkiego "Taniec wśród mieczów" MKiDN - 2017". www.mkidn.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

External links[edit]