Jules Tavernier, Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California

Jules Tavernier (American [born France], 1844–1889). Dance in a Subterranean Roundhouse at Clear Lake, California, 1878. Oil on canvas, 48 x 72 1/4 in. (121.9 x 183.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Marguerite and Frank A. Cosgrove Jr. Fund, 2016 (2016.135). On view in gallery 760.

The writer's response is just as entertaining as the artwork. It is in the form of a poem which I thought was creative. He expressed how the roundhouse was a place to unite. My perspective on the artwork changed after reading the response. At first I felt that it was a big celebration with people dancing for a special occasion. Afterwards I felt that it was much more than that; a spiritual place that always stood for unity. I was also left a little confused about the third to last line. He states "ear pressed on the dirt floor" I pictured him with his head against the dusty floor, perhaps listening to all the feet stomping as they danced to the music or it may have just been a metaphor; to emphasize how full the roundhouse would get as people gathered all around.