Ilse Voigt

Ilse Voigt was a German-Swiss painter, draughtswoman and graphic artist born in 1905 in Eberswalde and passed away in 1997 in Lausanne. Fascinated by dance throughout her life, she became widely known for her drawings, etchings, and drypoints of ballet dancers, as well as for her portraits, still lifes, flowers, and scenes of Venice.
Her early artistic education included studying under Emil Orlik at the Berlin School of Arts, where she developed strong technical skills in graphic techniques. In Berlin she also worked designing costumes, gaining experience in theater and performance, which later deeply influenced her visual work.
In the late 1930s, Voigt relocated to Switzerland, establishing her base in Lausanne. Over decades, she participated in many group exhibitions, notably becoming a member of the Salon des Indépendants in Paris from 1964 onwards. Her engravings and prints often portray renowned dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, demonstrating her lifelong passion for ballet.
She received several awards in her career, including honors in international graphic art competitions. Her artistic legacy is preserved in important collections: her prints and works on paper are held in institutions such as the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln, the Albertina in Vienna, the Swiss National Library, the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, and in libraries and dance archives across Europe and the United States.