Looking Like a Woman, Dancing Like a Painting, Footing the Renaissance: Isadora Duncan and Botticelli’s Primavera

Abstract

A print of Botticelli’s painting La Primavera in the dancer Isadora Duncan’s childhood home had a fundamental impact on her development of modern dance. This article explores Duncan’s dance and costume based on La Primavera in conjunction with other neo-Renaissance dancers (Sacharoff and Sachetti) and Aby Warburg’s interest in the Florentine nymph and moving draperies, arguing for the importance of studying the old masters, of looking like a woman, and embracing continued renascences.

Keywords

• Isadora Duncan
• Botticelli
• modern dance
• Aby Warburg
• La Ninfa