Ilse Bing
Cancan Dancer, Moulin-Rouge, Paris

Cancan Dancer, Moulin-Rouge, Paris
Cancan Dancer, Moulin-Rouge, Paris
Cancan Dancer, Moulin-Rouge, Paris
ArtistAmerican, born Germany, 1899–1998
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Cancan Dancer, Moulin-Rouge, Paris
Date1931, printed 1984
PlaceParis, France
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 13 3/8 × 10 5/8 in. (34 × 27 cm)
Sheet: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Joan Morgenstern in memory of Elizabeth Daily Cohen
Object number2014.1116
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

As an early enthusiast of the small-format Leica camera,
with its fast, sensitive film, Bing was able to go into dark settings like the
Moulin Rouge nightclub and capture dynamic images such as this one. Unlike the
detail achievable in contact prints made from large-plate negatives, enlarging
from small negatives lent her images an atmospheric graininess. In 1931 Bing
made her debut with this series on cancan dancers at the Galerie de la Pléiade,
the most prominent of the new contemporary art galleries in Paris. Bing’s
talent for photographing the spirit and motion of dance did not go unnoticed: one
critic later praised the “twirling magnetism” of the series and the famous
choreographer George Balanchine invited her to photograph his ballet Errante
in 1933.




Provenance[Nancy Medwell, Seattle]; purchased by Joan Morgenstern, Houston, March 8, 1992; given to MFAH, 2014.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in black ink, recto, lower right over image: ILSE // BING // 1931
Signed in pencil, verso, center: ILSE // BING // 1931
Inscribed in pencil, verso, lower right: FRENCH CANCAN DANCERS // MOULIN ROUGE PARIS // pr 1984
Signed in black ink, recto, lower right over image: ILSE // BING // 1931
Signed in pencil, verso, center: ILSE // BING // 1931
Printed label on verso mat/mount:
BING, ILSE / French Cancan Dancer, Moulin Rouge, / Paris 1931 / 13 x 10 1/2 inches / Signed and dated in ink on recto, signed, / titled and dated in pencil on verso

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Avenue du Maine, Paris
Ilse Bing
1932
Gelatin silver print
2002.232
Street Cleaner, Paris
Ilse Bing
1947
Gelatin silver print
2002.233
[Eiffel Tower, Paris]
Ilse Bing
1952
Gelatin silver print
2001.424
[Puddle of Water, Paris]
Ilse Bing
1952
Gelatin silver print
2001.422
Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris
Ilse Bing
1952
Gelatin silver print
2001.420
Eiffel Tower Behind Fence, Paris
Ilse Bing
1952
Gelatin silver print
2001.419
At the Moulin Rouge
Henri-Jacques-Edouard Evenepoel
1897
Oil on canvas
2002.121
Steps and Shadow, New York
Ilse Bing
1953
Gelatin silver print
2000.543
Wet Leaves and Curb
Ilse Bing
1952
Gelatin silver print
2000.542
Amsterdam
Ilse Bing
1931
Gelatin silver print
2000.433
Untitled
Ilse Bing
1956
Gelatin silver print
2001.428
Untitled
Ilse Bing
1953
Gelatin silver print
2001.427