Dancers: Devi Dja

Max Pollak

While in Austria Max Pollak was part of the avant-garde dance scene. He did a series of intaglio portraits of dancers, usually costumed and posed, from one of their noted performances. He sketched the dancers during perfomances and used the fluid drawings to create the etchings, which print in reverse when etched on a copper plate.

This image is preparatory drawing for the print titled "Devi Dja, Javanese Dancer". Devi Dja was born on the island of Java and trained in traditional Legong dancing in Bali. The Legong dance is meant to be performed by prepubescent children; however, Dja continued to dance in a non-ceremonial capacity after she'd reached puberty, inspired by the ballerina Anna Pavlova. She was discovered by the symphony conductor Leopold Stokowski who had been traveling in Bali. At his encouragement, then 16-year-old Dja assembled a troupe of musicians and dancers to tour throughout the world.

She eventually settled in Hollywood, California, and appeared in various films as a dancer, including "The Picture of Dorian Gray." By the end of her career she had established herself as one of the first people to introduce Balinese dance and theater to much of the world. She died in Northridge, California, on January 20, 1989.