[1] A prima ballerina of international reputation, she was depicted frequently by artists, sculptors and photographers and was also the subject of several poetic tributes.

Her rise to become one of Europe's principal ballerinas started in 1877, when the French composer Charles Gounod saw her dancing at La Scala, Milan.

The poet François Coppée created for her the very popular ballet La Korrigane (The Goblin Maiden), first performed in 1880 with music by Charles-Marie Widor and choreography by Louis Mérante.

[7] After seeing her performing with her long black hair loose in the lead role of André Messager's Les Deux Pigeons the following year, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé wrote how impressed he was by her ritualised animality (sa divination mêlée d’animalité).

Edgar Degas painted her several times onstage: Fin d'arabesque (1877, see above); Danseuse sur la scène (1878, see gallery); Ballet vu d'une loge de l'Òpera (1885).