16.00 USD
Unidentified Natalia Trouhanova, Russian Dancer and Actress, in La Mariska, circa 1907 (1st of 2)
One of the advantages of working with historical images for an extended period of time is that sometimes we are able to recognize a performer, even though she is not identified in the image. This is such a case.
This lovely image depicts the beautiful Natalia Trouhanova, wearing gypsy garb which has been hand-tinted in vibrant colors.
Note that we have an additional image depicting Natalia, with slightly different coloring applied during hand-tinting, at: www.etsy.com/listing/191698738/unidentified-natalia-trouhanova-russian
Natalia (also known by the diminutive form, Natasha, or Natacha) Vladimirovna Trouhanova was born into a theatrical family in Kiev, in 1885. According to an interview she gave in 1911, her parents were of French, Polish, Serbian and Bohemian extraction. The family left Kiev when she was one year old, and until she was thirteen, she "lived like a nomad, traveling through all the countries of Europe." (interview in Comoedia, 1911).
At thirteen, she began formal study in Moscow, first in acting, and then dance. When she arrived in France, in the early 1900s, she, like many emigre performers, found work in the music halls. In 1905, in Monte Carlo, she was cast in the role of a Hungarian Gypsy girl, in Jean Lorrain's "La Mariska," an opera ballet, and her career caught fire. Most of the images we come across of La Trouhanova are in Gypsy garb, probably in costume for La Mariska.
Although she gained her initial fame as a dancer, some reviews of the time suggest that her skills lay more in the area of interpretive dance, as a soloist, than in classic ballet, and applaud her pantomime and acting, particularly as a tragedienne.
She also appeared in a number of early silent films. After the outbreak of WWI, she married a Russian count, and retired, at least temporarily, from the stage. In the 1920s, she returned to dancing for a time, and then some years later, she and her husband returned to (then Soviet) Russia, and later in her life, she worked as a translator of Russian political tracts, some by Stalin, himself.
Perhaps because her career was a short one, it is difficult to find, online, much information about la Trouhanova personally, apart from one source, where we were extremely lucky. All of our bio information came from a google books extract of "Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance" by Lynn Garafola, published by Wesleyan University Press in 2005. We have a link below to that extract. Beginning on page 148, there is a great deal of information on Natalia Trouhanova. Of particular interest, though too lengthy to go into here, is her relationship (quite rocky), with Nijinsky and Diaghlev, well worth reading, as well as Ms. Garafola's insights into the state of the art, and business, of dance, in that place and time.
http://books.google.com/books?id=7gIDy6ait3IC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=trouhanova&source=bl&ots=P4TuEpuJj9&sig=d7q1rB1xOl7Ldk_2z-WGMviLrT8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2SiMUpLsFuip2QXSyoDwDg&ved=0CGEQ6AEwDA#v=onepage&q=trouhanova&f=false
A very nice card, with minor wear to edges and corners. Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, the price is the same as for a single card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, due to the costs of international shipping will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
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redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!