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Nineteenth century pedagogical theory focused on the leçon de chose, or object lesson, emphasizing learning through observation and detailed description of the object and its constituent parts. In fact, the object lesson was central to a broad range of practices in the nineteenth century, from dance training, starting with La Mettrie’s eighteenth century treatise that viewed the body as a machine whose parts could be altered to new medical practices focused on dissection. Similarly, as John Stout remarks, the object participated in a constellation of aesthetic and bodily practices, as archaeologists returned to France with remnants of ancient artifacts, a marble hand or a mummy’s foot. According to Sainte-Beuve, Théophile Gautier “was absolutely submissive to the object”; Gautier envisioned the critic as “a sculptor, who faced with a marble statue notes: here is a beautiful shoulder, or a well-turned arm.” In this paper, I will discuss Gautier’s reviews of the dancer as an aesthetic object, critiquing or praising aspects of her body, her performing instrument, as one might reproach a painter for a faulty design; in the service of objectivity, he views her as a fragmented constellation of aesthetic shapes and curves.

Cara Gargano is Professor of Dance and Theatre in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Arts Management at the Post Campus of Long Island University. As a dancer, she studied at the New York School of Ballet under Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis, and later taught at the school. She has performed both as a dancer and as an actress and her concert choreography has received warm reviews from The New York Times and has been presented in Europe as well as in the United States. As a stage director and choreographer, she has worked in theatre, opera and musical comedy. She holds a Ph.D. in French language and literature. She is twice Past President of the Congress on Research in Dance and Recipient of the Dixie Durr Award for Outstanding Service to Dance Research.