Dome

Overall view from below, right; dancing women surround the winged genius of Dance; The architect of the Opéra, Charles Garnier, Carpeaux’s friend from the Petite Ecole, suggested that Carpeaux should sculpt a group depicting the Dance of Bacchus for the main façade of the Opéra "in the spirit of the Arc de Triomphe" (Carpeaux to his friend Dutouquet, 25 December 1863). After some experimentation, he decided upon the subject of The Dance (1866; Paris, Mus. d’Orsay; copy by Paul Belmondo in situ at Opéra, 1964) adding, as Garnier wrote jokingly in Le Nouvel Opéra de Paris (Paris, 1878), up to one figure a day; the final work comprises seven figures (some partial), surrounding a winged genius. The sculpture was carved in echaillon stone and unveiled 27 July 1869, and immediately provoked a public scandal. A bottle of ink was thrown at the work a month after the unveiling. Public opinion demanded its removal, however, the war of 1870, followed by the death of Carpeaux, put an end to the controversy. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 8/27/2015)