Comerre Leon Francois Portrait Of The Ballerina Rosita Mauri

''María Isabel Amada Antonia Rosa Mauri Segura'' or ''Roseta Mauri y Segura'' (15 September 1850 – 3 December 1923) was a Spanish dancer and ballet teacher. Her year of birth has also been quoted as between 1849 and 1856. A

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

of international reputation, she was depicted frequently by artists, sculptors and photographers and was also the subject of several poetic tributes.

Career

Rosita Mauri was the daughter of the Catalan ballet master and choreographer Pedro Rafael Jaime Mauri who, from her childhood, trained her for stardom. She was brought up in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

, which has sometimes been claimed as her place of birth, and began her dancing career in 1865. Her rise to become one of Europe's principal ballerinas started in 1877, when the French composer

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

saw her dancing at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, Milan. He then persuaded the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

to engage her and she premiered in Gounod's ''Polyeucte'' the following year. After she retired from full-time dancing, she taught future generations of dancers at the Ballet d’Opera's ‘Class of perfection’ between 1898 and 1920. On her death in 1923, she was buried in the

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

, the name on her grave being given as Isabel Amada Rosita. The Rosita Mauri Academy of Dance in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

was named after her in 1978 and her home town of

has hosted an international dance competition in her name since 2002. Because of her warm nature, Rosita Mauri was a favourite in artistic circles. The poet

François Coppée François Edouard Joachim Coppée (; 26 January 1842 – 23 May 1908) was a French poet and novelist. Biography Coppée was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war and wo ...

created for her the very popular ballet ''La Korrigane'' (The Goblin Maiden), first performed in 1880 with music by

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ sympho ...

and choreography by

Louis Mérante Louis Alexandre Mérante (23 July 1828–Courbevoie, 17 July 1887) was a dancer and choreographer, the ''Maître de Ballet'' (First Balletmaster/Chief Choreographer) of the Paris Opera Ballet at the Salle Le Peletier until its destruction by fire ...

. He was followed in 1885 by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

, who created the ballet in his opera ''El Cid'' (1885) especially for her. After seeing her performing with her long black hair loose in the lead role of

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty , opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet (1 ...

's ''Les Deux Pigeons'' the following year, the poet

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French Symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools o ...

wrote how impressed he was by her ritualised animality (''sa divination mêlée d’animalité''). She was frequently portrayed by artists.

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

painted her several times onstage: ''Fin d'arabesque'' (1877, see above); ''Danseuse sur la scène'' (1878, see gallery); ''Ballet vu d'une loge de l'Òpera'' (1885). Others included

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

(''Portrait of Rosita Mauri'' 1877/9, also known as ''Jeune femme en rose'' (see gallery)),

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (; 20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, art collector and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 ...

, Léon Comerre,

Anders Zorn Anders Leonard Zorn (18 February 1860 – 22 August 1920) was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. His portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three President of the Un ...

(a portrait in 1888 and an etching in 1889), and Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic. She was also sculpted by

Denys Puech Denys Puech (3 December 1854, Gavernac, Bozouls, Aveyron – December 1942, Rodez, Aveyron) was a French sculptor. Biography From a family of farmers (his brother was Louis Puech, Député for the Seine Department from 1898 to 1932, and Min ...

, Laurent Marqueste, and . The photographer

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...

made portraits of her throughout her career. Another side of her artistic temperament was her quick temper. There is an anecdote that she refused to eat caviar because the tsar had turned to talk to a companion during one of her performances. Another rumoured to have suffered on her account was the French politician

Antonin Proust Antonin Proust (15 March 183220 March 1905) was a French journalist and politician. Antonin Proust was born at Niort, Deux-Sèvres. In the 1840s, Proust attended the Collège Rollin where he met lifelong friend Édouard Manet. In September 1850, ...

, who had formerly studied art with his childhood friend Édouard Manet and was for a short period Minister for the Arts (1881-2). In March 1905 he shot himself two days after dining with Rosita Mauri, according to some papers as a result of quarreling with her.''New York Times'', 23 March 190
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Gallery

File:Rosita-i-pare.jpg, Rosita Mauri with her father File:Roseta Mauri par Edgar Lacoste, 1875.jpg, A drawing by Edgar Lacoste, July 1875 File:Be9d1-rosetamauri.jpg, Dancing in ''Le Cid'', Act 2, 1885 File:Rosita Mauri 1900 marbre.JPG, A head by Denys Puech, 1900 File:Edgar Degas - Ballet (L'Étoile).jpg, ''Prima ballerina'' by Degas, 1878 File:Édouard Manet - Jeune femme en rose (Rosita Mauri).jpg, Manet's ''Jeune femme en rose'', 1880 File:KEB Rosita-mauri.jpg, Clog dance in ''La Korrigane'', 1880 File:Zorn1-Rosita Mauri.JPG, Watercolour by Anders Zorn, 1888

References

Sources

* * Ferran Canyameres
''La Dansarina Roseta Mauri''
L’Associació d’Estudis Reusencs, 1971] {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauri, Rosita 1850 births 1923 deaths Spanish ballerinas Paris Opera Ballet étoiles People from Reus Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 19th-century Spanish dancers