The Complete Works of Philippe Smit
by Andreas Narzt and Florence Castellani
PS 386 (P 101; LNC 131)
Danse sacrée
Alternate title: La danse sacrée
1931, reworked in 1948
Pastel on cardboard
71 11/16 x 46 1/2 in. (182 x 118 cm) (sight size)
Titled, signed and dated lower right: Danse Sacrée/ Philippe Smit/ 1931
Inventories
Inv. Les Pleignes, P. Damidot, 1938, LNC archives: no. P 101: p. [1], grand salon, Tableau par Philippe Smit./ La Danse Sacrée./ Signé et daté 1931. 6.000 [FRF].
Inv. Pitcairn, n.d. [c.1957], n.p., LNC archives: no. P 101 F: Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, The Sacred Dance dated 1931, Smit, Pastel, 71 x 46 1/2 [in.].
Inv. LNC, 1984, updated Oct. 1998, LNC archives: no. P 101: p. 2, The Church Hall - Art Gallery, The Sacred Dance, Pastel, 71 x 46 1/2 [in.].
Exhibitions
Galerie Pierre Maurs, Paris, Peinture et Pastels de Philippe Smit, February 04, 1948, no. 54, as Danse sacrée, 1933 (CP); not shown.
Literature & Primary Sources
Massé, René. Journal. 1920-21, 1924, 1929-31, 1933-1935, 13-12-1931, p. [17 & 18] ("… 'une danseuse de Baly [sic]' …").
Niehaus, Kasper. "Te weinig geëerd shilder: De beteekenis van Philippe Smit." De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), 27-01-1933, p. 7 ("… en de wijdings-dans op Bali. …").
Niehaus, Kasper. "Philippe Smit." Elsevier's Geïllustreerd Maandschrift Jaargang 47, n° 93 (1937 januari-juli), p. 236, as Danse sacrée.
Niehaus, Kasper. Philippe Smit, unkown genius. Revised and edited by Marjorie Bell. Typescript, 1955, p. 20-21, as La danse sacrée.
Notes
"Gare de Lyon, départ 8h.38 pour Montereau. Brouillard./ Philippe vient me chercher en auto et nous partons à/ Thoury./ Dans l’Atelier de Philippe, ses nouvelles œuvres: […] Pastel 'une danseuse de Baly [sic]' souvenir de l'Exposition/ coloniale de Paris 1931, le caractère des mains, le tissu/ d'or.[…] [Il] A visité l'Exposition coloniale, fut émerveillé des danses/ sacrées des danseuses balinaises, c'est après cet enchante-/ ment qu'il fit de mémoire le pastel cité plus haut. […]" (Gare de Lyon departure 8:38 to Montereau. Fog. Philippe comes to fetch me in a car and we leave for Thoury. In Philippe's studio, his new works: … Pastel of ‘a Bali dancer’ in remembrance of the Colonial Exhibition of Paris 19311, the expression of the hands, the golden fabric. … He visited the Colonial Exhibition, was amazed by the sacred dances of the Balinese dancers, it was after this enchantment that he made from memory the pastel mentioned above. …) (Massé, 13 December 1931, p. [17 & 18])
1. "Participation of the Netherlands in the International Colonial Exposition of Paris. Program of music and dances performed by a group of men and women dancers from the Island of Bali under the direction of Tjokorde. At the Pendopo (theatre) of the Holland Pavilion." (part of the text of a program of one of the performances). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Colonial_Exposition.
Record last updated April 20, 2017. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Narzt, Andreas and Castellani, Florence. "Danse sacrée, 1931, reworked in 1948 (PS 386)." In The Complete Works of Philippe Smit. www.philippesmit.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=386 (accessed on May 9, 2025).