Frederick Frieseke was born in Owasso, Michigan. After the death of his mother, the young Frieseke came to Jacksonville, Florida to live with his uncle, Albert Carl Frieseke. The residence was at Floral Bluff in Arlington, an area Frieseke would capture 25 years later in a series of memory paintings of Florida.
Frieseke was a member of the Giverny Group, an assembly of American artists who lived for a period of time in Giverny, France. The group went to Giverny in the 1890’s to seek instruction and inspiration from Claude Monet and in 1906, Frieseke purchased a house next to Monet’s residence in Giverny.
This painting was done when Frieseke was living in Corsica during the winter of 1912/1913. Unlike most Impressionist works, it was painted inside due to the cold weather. Frieseke shows his model, Marcelle, dressed up like a ballerina primping before her performance.
The Cummer Museum purchased this painting in 1985 with the help of school children who donated pennies to help buy the painting.
