The Dance in the Park by Lotte Reiniger

Framed and glazed silhouette artwork titled 'The Dance in the Park' by Lotte Reiniger, 1956. Signed by the artist.

Lotte Reiniger developed her interest in silhouettes at an early age. She first became involved in films when she made silhouette cut-outs for the intertitles of Paul Wegener’s 1916 film 'Rumpelstiltskin's Wedding'. In 1919, she completed her first animated film, 'The Ornament of the Heart in Love'. Reiniger went on to produce many more animated films, the most famous being 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' (1926), the oldest surviving animated feature film.

After the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 Reiniger and her husband, the film director Carl Koch (1892-1963), resolved to leave Germany but no country would allow them permanent residence. After spending the final years of the Second World War in Germany, they became British citizens, settling in Barnet, Hertfordshire, where Lotte created a series of fairy tale films for American television.

Lotte Reiniger made 'The Dance in the Park' as a 21st birthday gift for her neighbour's daughter who had a keen interest in ballet.