Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

In this paper, I focus on one of the most famous dancers of the early twentieth century, Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), a modern dance pioneer, and her extensive connections to artists working in other disciplines: including renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), painter Eugène Carrière (1849-1906), sculptor Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929), painter Jules Grandjouan (1875-1968), and poet-artist Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) etc. I will explain how and when these artists became acquainted with Isadora Duncan. I will show the impact of the cross-fertilization of ideas in several of their artworks. I will then discuss how the artists perceived Isadora’s dancing and what motivated them to create their artworks. I will conclude with an overview of the complex relationship between the world of dance and the fine arts.