Edgar Degas

Private Collection, France
Thence by descent to the present owners

John Rewald, Degas Sculptures, London, 1957, no. LV, illustration of other casts pl. 41 & 42; Degas's Complete Sculpture, San Francisco, 1990, illustration of another cast p. 148
Franco Russoli & Fiorella Minervino, L'Opera Completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. S9, illustration of another cast
Gary Tinterow, 'Degas, les Années 1880, la synthèse et l'évolution', in Degas (exhibition catalogue), Paris, Grand Palais, 1988, no. 290-291, illustration of the wax model and another cast pp. 473-474
Charles W. Millard, The Sculptures of Edgar Degas, Princeton, 1976, illustration of another cast pl. 89
Anne Pingeot & Frank Horvat, Degas sculptures, Paris, 1991, no. 9, illustration of another cast pp. 54 & 55
Sara Campbell, 'Degas, The sculptures, A Catalogue raisonné', in Apollo, London, August 1995, pp. 6-77, no. 6, fig. 6, illustration of another cast p. 14
Joseph S. Czestochowski & Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures, Catalogue raisonné of the bronzes, Memphis, 2002, no. 6, illustrations of another cast pp. 132 & 133

Work is in excellent condition. Golden brown patina. Very minor patina rubbing to tip of figure's right foot, otherwise fine.
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At the end of the 1880s, the theme of the dance dominated the work of Edgar Degas. Fascinated by the grace and fluidity of dancers' movements, he constantly captured them at the decisive moment of perfect balance. Along with the themes of women bathing and racehorses, he insatiably explored and depicted every aspect of the ballet world from the stage and the audience to the dressing rooms and their unique atmosphere.

In 1897, Degas confided to Thiébault Sisson, "Truth is only obtained with the aid of sculpting, because it exercises a constraint on the artist which forces him not to neglect anything important" (quoted in 'Degas portraitiste', Le Temps, 12^th July 1931). Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, of which three versions exist, is a superb example of the level of mastery which the painter achieved through the use of sculpture. His touch is assured and effective, and the weighting of the body is remarkably impressive; the right arm gracefully held above the head and the leg pointing forward, parallel with the ground, compliment each other perfectly, while the lateral left arm both ensures the balance of the pose and adds to its overall harmony.

This model is one of the most accomplished sculptures by the artist. It is one of which Mary Cassatt commented: "I have studied Degas' bronzes for months; I believe he will be an even greater sculptor than he is a painter" (cited in John Rewald, "Degas's bronzes – an afterword", The complete sculptures of Degas (exhibition catalogue), The Lefevre Gallery, London, 1976).

Fig. 1: Exhibition of Degas Sculptures, H.O. Havemeyer Collection (including another cast of the present model at front), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930