Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California
1878
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
48 × 72 1/4 in. (121.9 × 183.5 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. Fund, 2016
Accession Number
2016.135
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jules Tavernier's *Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California* (1878) captures a vibrant moment of cultural ritual in Northern California. Painted in oil on canvas—a medium ideal for Tavernier's luminous and dynamic brushwork—this-scale work (48 × 72¼ inches) immerses viewers in the earthy interior of a subterranean roundhouse, a traditional structure used by Native American communities like the Pomo people around Clear Lake. The scene pulses with energy, featuring men and women in traditional dance, their forms illuminated against the shadowed, circular space. Tavernier, a ...