Lot 8: Paul Bret (French, 1902-1956) Girls dancing the tratta, Megara 114 x 162 cm.

Girls dancing the tratta, Megara
signed 'Paul Bret' (lower right)
oil on canvas
114 x 162 cm.

Literature:
Camille Mauclair, Athènes, Trente Planches en couleur d'apres les tableaux de Paul Bret, Paris, 1961, pp. 151-155 (illustrated p. 153).

A French artist with a wide and varied repertoire of engaging subjects, Paul Bret visited Greece often, capturing local traditions in poignant canvases. The Trata dance is performed on the Tuesday following Easter Sunday by the women of Megara near Athens. With hands held crosswise standing in a circle and dressed in finely-embroidered traditional costumes, the young dancers step in a stately and sombre manner, echoing the movements of fishermen drawing in the nets from a tratta fishing boat. Harking back to ancient times, this graceful dance emanates a sense of "charming purity and virtuous elegance" as noted by an observant 19th century traveller.