Carmencita, the dancer known as the Pearl of Seville " was born in 1868 in Almería, on the southeast coast of Spain, and became famous in her homeland and in France in the 1880s. After making her debut in New York in 1889 at Niblo's Garden, she was besieged with requests for private appearances. John Singer Sargent arranged for her to perform at Chase's studio on the evening of April 1, 1890. Chase then painted this lively portrait of the dancer, in which he suggested the enthusiasm of the audience through the golden bracelet and the flowers they had thrown at her feet. Sargent's own portrait of Carmencita (also 1890) is at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
William Merritt Chase was an American impressionist painter. Chase painted in oil, pastel, ink, acrylic, and on all kinds of surfaces. The subjects and themes of his paintings and drawings are extremely diverse: landscapes, still lifes, interiors, portraits.
