Alphonsine Malot

A pencilled inscription verso in a period hand identifies the sitter as ‘Mlle Malo [sic] 2eme’ of the ‘Opéra.' 

There were two sisters with the surname Malot in the corps de ballet at the Paris Opéra in the 1860s. The elder, Augustine, was known as 'Malot 1' and the younger, Alphonsine, as 'Malot 2.' This therefore is probably Alphonsine Malot. 

Her sister Augustine was one of the dancers rehearsing La muette de Portici on 15 November 1862, when Emma Livry’s skirts caught fire. Heedless of her own danger, she approached Livry several times and tried to tear the burning shreds from her costume. The male dancer, Pluque, also made valiant efforts to save her. The other dancers were not so courageous; many recoiled in fear of contact, some fleeing the theatre altogether.