Martha Mouravieva 
(1838-1879)

The Russian ballerina Martha Mouravieva is seen here as she appeared in Act II of Giselle, the ballet in which she made her Paris debut in 1863.  

A peasant girl with a weak heart, Giselle dies at the end of Act 1 when she discovers that her lover 'Loys' is in fact Albrecht, a nobleman betrothed to a duke's daughter. In Act II she has joined the ranks of the Wilis, a group of supernatural women who dance men to death, though ultimately she forgives her erstwhile lover, his life is spared and Giselle returns to the grave in peace.