Louis Kronberg (1872-1965)
Known as the Painter of Dancers, Louis Kronberg was a prolific artist who was recognized for his oil and pastel portraits of ballet and Spanish flamenco dancers. Born in Boston, Louis Kronberg began his formal artistic training at the Museum of Fine Arts School, where he studied with Edmund Tarbell and Frank Benson. He continued his studies in New York with William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League. In 1894 Kronberg was awarded a Longellow traveling scholarship, which enabled him to go to Paris for several years to study at the Académie Julien with Benjamin Costant, Jean Paul Laurens, and Raphael Collin. While in Paris, Kronberg was exposed to the bright, expressively painted work of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, which differed from his own academic and somewhat dark and subdued style. Furthermore, Kronberg was drawn to new subject matter—theatrical performers, ballet and flamenco dancers—and the radical compositions of Edgar Degas, with whom he studied the medium of pastel.
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