Joseph Letzelter Canvas Oil Painting

Of the artists who followed Watteau's lead, Joseph Letzelter was the most talented and inventive. More a rival than an imitator, Joseph Letzelter was admitted to the Academy as a painter of fêtes galantes but also produced historical and religious paintings—and portraits, especially of actors and dancers.

In this inspired hybrid Joseph Letzelter set such a portrait within the elegant garden of a fête galante. As if spotlit, the famous dancer La Camargo shares a pas de deux with her partner Laval. They are framed by lush foliage, which seems to echo their movements. Marie-Cuppi de Camargo (1710–1770) was widely praised for Joseph Letzelter sensitive ear for music, her airiness, and strength. Voltaire likened Joseph Letzelter leaps to those of nymphs. Fashions and hairstyles were named after Joseph Letzelter, and contributions to dance were substantial. Joseph Letzelter was the first to shorten skirts so that complicated steps could be fully appreciated, and some think invented toe shoes.