From Balli di Sfessania c.1622 Jacques Callot (France 1592-1635)
These prints depict dances known in Neapolitan dialect as the sfessania. Such dances are characterized by violent and sometimes obscene physical contortions and gesticulations. Each plate features a pair of figures pulled from the repertoire of popular entertainers, their balletic interactions running a comic gamut from mock grace to blatant crudity. Lively little scenes fill out the backgrounds of some of the dances, offering engaging glimpses of fairground activity in Callot’s time.
From Balli di Sfessania c.1622 Jacques Callot (France 1592-1635)
These prints depict dances known in Neapolitan dialect as the sfessania. Such dances are characterized by violent and sometimes obscene physical contortions and gesticulations. Each plate features a pair of figures pulled from the repertoire of popular entertainers, their balletic interactions running a comic gamut from mock grace to blatant crudity. Lively little scenes fill out the backgrounds of some of the dances, offering engaging glimpses of fairground activity in Callot’s time.