At the WINdow By Emily Pisacreta

           Louis Kronberg is a Boston born painter with an affinity for painting ballerinas. His beautiful work, At the Window, is stationed in the Blue Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum. At the Window depicts a young ballerina wearing light pink pointe shoes and a large, fluffy, white tutu. The dancer stands in front of a huge window, covered with pale, flowing curtains. Her dark hair, pulled back into a loose ballerina bun is the only dark color in the entire painting. The dancer in the painting stands relaxed, casual, with her hand in front of her face, as if she is trying to recall something.

Kronberg’s work is highly impressionistic, with colors and lights and shadows seemingly running into each other. This impressionistic style works flawlessly on this painting. When we think ballerinas, we think of structured, trained, and very well put together people. At the Window tells a very different story. The ballerina’s hair is messy, with wisps of hair flying out of her rather low ballet bun. Her pointe shoes are loosely tied with the ribbons hanging out, which is the number one sin in the world of ballet. She is not standing in fifth position or with her leg ten feet in the air; she is slumped over, her legs turned in. All of these aspects along with the blurry impressionistic style show the imperfect side of the ballerina. She does not fit the mold of a typical ballerina; we are reminded of the human side of these seemingly perfect, graceful dancers. If this person, whose job it is to be put together and graceful, can have a moment of imperfection, then all human beings can. Without overstating it, this picture reminds us all that it is okay to not be put together and perfect because despite the imperfections in the ballerina’s stance and appearance, the painting as a whole is still quite beautiful.

Louis Kronberg uses the ballerina to remind all viewers that we do not have to conform to the high expectations placed on us because of our professions. His impressionistic style and imperfect illustration of the ballerina provide a sense of relief and relaxation or even a moment of truth for the viewer. As a reviewer who loves both ballet and impressionism, I highly recommend this piece to anyone who feels the same way. However, if these things are not exactly your cup of tea, you might not feel the same attraction to the picture as I did. Overall, on the nineties slang scale of fresh to not so much; I’d say this painting is pretty tight.