There are few images in art as iconic as Degas’s dancers. Degas first turned his attention to the Paris Opéra in the 1860s, and found within dance a subject that led him to create extraordinary works in every medium. Here, he was able to study the unguarded gestures of dancers at rest alongside the highly prescribed positions of the classical ballet.
In Danse Espagnole and Danseuse, arabesque ouverte sur la jambe droite, bras droit à terre Degas breaks with the nineteenth century to create strikingly modern depictions of the figure in a bold vocabulary of poses. The works abandon the detail of classical sculpture, instead focusing upon the body’s relationship with the space it inhabits and the intense physicality of form.
In the beautiful pastel, Trois Danseuses, the scene is cut off, as if Degas is stealing a glance or recording a fleeting moment for posterity. The figure on the right is thought to be Marie van Goethem, the model for the artist’s Little Girl of Fourteen Years, the only sculpture exhibited during his lifetime.
Upon Degas’s death in 1917, his studio was discovered to have many original wax, clay and plastiline models, in varying levels of completeness. The pre-eminent foundry of Adrien Hébrard and master founder Albino Palozzolo were chosen to bring these works to life in bronze. When the casts were finally exhibited in 1921, Mary Cassatt wrote to Hébrard that, we are “indebted to you for the admirable work you have done in reproducing so perfectly these fragile works in bronze”.
Degas’s bronzes are highly prized with many casts in museum collections. Those of Danse Espagnole and Danseuse, arabesque ouverte are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Musée d’Orsay, Detroit Institute of Arts and Carlsberg Glyptotek.
For further information about TEFAF Maastricht, click here, or visit us at stand 426.