Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1934.1.132 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Description |
Portrait of an Indian woman wearing brightly colored clothes and a headdress. Henriette Wachman was part of a group of female artists who lived and worked in Europe in the late 1800s, because of the greater freedoms for women there. Here, Wachman depicts a Nautch dancer. "Nautch" is an anglicized version of the Hindi or Urdu word for "dance" or "dancing." "Nautch girls" performed an intricate traditional dance during British rule in India, but the term can also imply racist and sexualized characterizations of these women. Wachman, a white woman, often painted "exotic" foreign subjects for an American audience hungry for subjects that reflected worldliness and the economic ability to travel. |
Title |
Nautch Girl |
Date |
early 20th century |
Role of Creator |
Artist |
Creator |
Wachman, Henriette |
Medium |
oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-18 W-11 inches |
Credit line |
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Bailey Audigier |
Place of Origin |
US |
Culture |
American |
Subjects |
Dance Women Exoticism India |