The Ballerina Ulla Poulsen in the Ballet Chopiniana, Paris (1927). Gerda Wegener (Danish, 1886-1940). Oil on canvas. Library of the Royal Theatre, Copenhagen.
In the best known and most monumental portrait of Ulla Poulsen, the ballerina takes her bow after a performance of the ballet Chopiniana. A typical Wegener bouquet lies on the edge of the stage, and in Toulouse-Lautrec fashion a little piece of a bass or cello projects from the orchestral pit. The light beams shine down over the main figure in a fan pattern, and the ballet skirt spreads around her in a circle.
