Edgar Degas

M. Knoedler & Co., New York
Helene Rabb Cahners, Boston (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 6, 2003, lot 1)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Boston, The Museum of Fine Arts, 1992-2002 (on loan)

Paul Gsell, "Edgar Degas, statuaire," La Renaissance de l'Art français et des industries de luxe, Paris, December 1918, illustration of the wax p. 376
Exposition des Sculptures de Degas (exhibition catalogue), Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Paris, 1921, no. 4, another cast listed
Degas, portraitiste, sculpteur (exhibition catalogue), Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1931, no. 4, another cast listed
Paul Vitry, Catalogue des Sculptures du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des Temps modernes, Suppléments, Paris, 1933, no. 1721, another cast listed
John Rewald, Degas: Works in Sculpture, New York, 1944, no. XLII, illustration of another cast pl. 97
Pierre Borel, Les sculptures inédites de Degas. Choix de cires originales, Geneva, 1949, illustration of the wax
John Rewald & Leonard von Matt, L'oeuvre sculpté de Degas, Zürich, 1957, no. XLII, illustration of another cast pl. 36
Degas, Oeuvres du Musée du Louvre, Peintures, Pastels, Dessins, Sculptures (exhibition catalogue), Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1969, no. 246, listed p. 47
Franco Russoli & Fiorella Minervino, L'opera completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. S4, illustration of another cast p. 140
John Rewald, The Complete Sculptures of Degas (exhibition catalogue), The Lefevre, London, 1976, no. 4, illustration of another cast p. 22
John Rewald, Degas's Complete Sculpture, Catalogue Raisonné, San Francisco, 1990, no. XLII, illustration of another cast p. 122
Sarah Campbell, "Degas' bronzes," Apollo, 1995, London, no. 3, illustration of another cast p. 12
Jill DeVonyar & Richard Kendall, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, no. 166, illustration of another cast p. 150
Joseph Czestochowski & Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures: Catalogue raisonné of the Bronzes, Memphis, 2002-03, illustration of another cast pp. 126-7

Dark reddish-brown patina. Patina is slightly dull in places. A tiny spot of corrosion on the figure's right forearm. Would benefit from a gentle cleaning and rewaxing. Work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The original wax model for this work was executed between 1896 and 1911 and cast in an edition of twenty-two bronze examples beginning in 1919, lettered A to T, plus additional casts labeled HER, HER.D and AP, reserved for the Degas heirs and the Hébrard Foundry. The number 3 refers to the subject number, which was assigned to the work when it was included in the first exhibition of Degas sculptures at the Hébrard Foundry in 1921.

Throughout his career, Degas constantly experimented with rendering the form of the dancer in various poses. By and large, the three-dimensional medium of sculpture offered him the most possiblities for capturing the grace and beauty of these figures and for exploring the seemingly boundless flexibility of their bodies. For the present work, the artist has rendered the dancer posing with her left leg extended backwards, almost parallel to the ground, and her right arm extending forwards, counterbalancing her weight. This position, known as arabesque, is one of the most animated poses of the ballet, and was commonly depicted in Degas' paintings, drawings and pastels, in addition to several sculptural renderings. The present sculpture is the second of three related versions of this subject, and one of his most expressive figural compositions.

Jill DeVonyar and Richard Kendall have written about the significance of this pose in 19th century classical dance and the formal complexity that it offered the sculptor: "An unpublished treatise written between 1868 and 1871 by the Opéra instructor Leopold Adice, Grammaire et Théorie choréographique..., makes it clear that the bent knee was actively promoted. Adice's manuscript was extensively illustrated by himself, and as Sandra Noll Hammond has noted, in his drawings of high arabesques, 'the raised leg is always shown as though with a slightly relaxed knee.' In this context, we should note that Degas' sensitively modeled, lyrical figure is represented in the nude, allowing him to give full articulation to the currently preferred pose and, incidentally, to reveal the true shape of his uncorseted model" (Jill De Vonyar and Richard Kendall, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), The Detroit Institute of Arts; The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, p. 153).