Maria Viganò
Josefa Maria Viganò (nee Mayer, stage name before marriage Maria Medina ; * 1769 in Vienna , † 1821 in Paris ) was an Austrian ballet dancer and member of the Vienna Court Opera .
She was the first dancer to wear a flesh-colored leotard . These appearances at the Vienna Court Opera in 1793 caused a tremendous sensation because the dancer appeared to be dancing largely naked, and subsequently caused a revolution in the art of ballet. The dancer's immense popularity went so far that when she continued to perform during pregnancy, the ladies of society began to mimic her abdominal padding, which was called viganobauch . Not everyone was enthusiastic. The Viennese writer Caroline Pichler wrote:
- In the so-called rose-colored pas de deux, Madame Vigano wore nothing but three or four fluttering crepe skirts over the leotard that encircled her entire body, each one shorter than the other, and all together with a belt of dark brown ribbon around the middle the body tied up. So actually this ribbon was the only item of clothing that covered her, because the crepe didn't cover anything, in the dance these little skirts or actually falbalas often flew and left the audience with the whole body of the dancer in a flesh-colored leotard that imitated the skin, so apparently completely bared, see.
The verdict on her dance was nevertheless positive:
- That struck me as outrageously cheeky; Nevertheless, I had to admit that the movements of this artist were enchantingly graceful, her facial expressions full of expression (she was also very pretty), her pantomime were masterful. The sensation which this woman and the ballets which her husband performed here created was enormous; but at the same time they were the turning point of old and new art as well as of old and new taste.
She performed with her husband, the dancer Salvatore Viganò , whom she married in 1789. During a guest performance in Berlin, the artist Johann Gottfried Schadow made movement sketches of the couple during a dance performance and carried out several drawings and etchings based on them. On the occasion of sending the corresponding etchings even Goethe found reason to praise:
- The general applause that Madame Vigano received clearly shows that she herself works with great energy in a pure style, which in the art world, once people open their eyes, cannot stand by its side.
In 1799, her husband divorced her. Maria Viganò died in Paris in 1821 .
literature
- Vigano, Maria Josefa in: Bilderlexikon der Erotik , Vol. 1, Vienna & Leipzig 1928, p. 880
- Joachim Lindner : Where the gods live: Johann Gottfried Schadow's path to art. Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-929829-72-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Albert Joseph Weltner: The imperial-royal court opera theater in Vienna. Statistical review of the personnel situation and artistic activity during the period from May 25, 1869 to April 30, 1894. Vienna 1894, p. Xxxiv digitized The nationality remains somewhat unclear. In the given source, Mayer is mentioned as the actual name. In numerous other places Maria Medina is spoken of as a Spanish dancer or as a dancer of Spanish origin. See e.g. B. Carol Lee: Ballet in western culture: a history of its origins and evolution. Routledge, New York 2002, p. 115
- ↑ Caroline Pichler: Memories from my life. Munich 1914, 1st volume, 1st part, p. 181f
- ↑ March 1797 to Johann Friedrich Unger , in: Goethe: Sophienausgabe, IV. Department, Vol. 12, Weimar 1887ff, p. 79
- Maria Viganò (drawings by Johann Gottfried Schadow )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Viganò, Maria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Viganò, Josefa Maria; Medina, Maria; Mayer, Josefa Maria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian ballet dancer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1769 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1821 |
| Place of death | Paris |