Edgar Degas

King Milan of Serbia (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 16, 1906, lot 115)

Mme Mye (acquired at the above sale)

Jules Strauss, Paris (sold: Galerie Georges Petit, December 15, 1932, lot 15)

Paul Rosenberg, Paris (acquired at the above sale)

Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris

Acquired from the above

Paul-André Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, vol. II, Paris, 1946, no. 546, illustrated p. 307

The work appears to be executed on Michallet paper, a type of paper which Degas frequently used. It is on its original mounting, which consists of the primary support (on which the pastel has been rendered) pasted to thin wove paper (the secondary support); the latter, in turn, wrapped around the edges and back of millboard, the latter being tick cardboard introduced in the early 19th century. This format was commonly used by Degas. The pastel layer is in excellent condition. The colors are vibrant and do not show any indication of fading or color alteration. The support 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.

Danseuse se coiffant combines two themes that would become a hallmark of Degas' production -- that of the dancer and the woman at her toilette.   The present work dates from the prime of the Impressionist movement in 1879 and around a decade before the subject of a woman fixing her hair would take hold as a central motif in his art.  In this beautifully detailed pastel, Degas presents the dancer at close range, focusing on the shadows and contours of her face.  Such an intimate perspective was rare for Degas' depictions of his models, who were commonly depicted from a voyeuristic distance.  Usually, the artist was interested in exploring the female body, rather than in representing his sitters as individuals.  But here he has taken care to personify his model as she pins back the tresses of her hair, presumably before a performance or rehearsal.

Degas was keenly aware of the humanity of the dancers beyond their glamorous costumes and make-up.   His behind-the-scenes participation allowed him access to details of the dancers' practices that were otherwise unseen.  By the late 1870s and into the 1880s he attended both the performances and rehearsals, and he was well-known among the members of the company.  With such privileged access he could render them with his pastels in the midst of a staged production and in their more intimate moments when their movements were wholly unchoreographed.  As Richard Kendall and Jill De Vonyar state, "no one observed more closely than Degas ... the process by which 'common' Opéra dancers were transformed -- through makeup, stylized costumes, and the distance between the proscenium and the audience -- into 'priestesses of grace.'  Much of his own art was concerned with this metamorphosis: research has increasingly revealed the extent to which his performance images were rooted in firsthand experience of the state rather than in his painterly imagination"  (J. De Vonyar & R. Kendall, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), The Detroit Institute of Arts & The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, p. 157).