Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, Edgar Degas

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

"Little Dancer of Fourteen Years" ("French: La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans") is a c. 1881 sculpture by Edgar Degas of a young dance student named Marie van Goethem. The sculpture was originally made in wax before it was cast in 1922 in bronze. It is built from wax, an unusual choice of material for a sculpture of this time, dressed in a cotton skirt with a hair ribbon, sitting on a wooden base.

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

The exact relationship between Marie van Goethem and Edgar Degas is a matter of debate. It was usual in 1880 for the 'Petits Rats' of the Opera of Paris to seek protectors from among the wealthy visitors at the back door of the opera.
A 3D Photograph of the Statue. 3d glasses red cyan.svg 3D red cyan glasses are recommended to view this image correctly.

When the "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" was shown in Paris at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881, it received mixed reviews. The majority of critics were shocked by the piece. They thought it was ugly, that it looked like a medical specimen, in part because Degas exhibited it inside a glass case. Some considered the head and face grotesque and primitive.

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

His heirs (wife and daughter) made the decision to have 27 of them cast in bronze. The casting went on at the Hébrard foundry in Paris from 1920 until the mid-20th Century, producing the posthumous Degas bronzes that can be seen in many museums. Sixty-nine original sculptures in wax and mixed-media survived the casting process. One copy is currently owned by the creator and owner of Auto Trader, John Madejski. He stated that he bought the sculpture by accident. That copy was sold for 13,257,250 £ ($ 19,077,250) at Sotheby's on February, 3rd 2009. [1] Another casting failed to sell at a November 2011 action at Christies.[2]

To construct the statue, Degas used a skeleton made out of paintbrushes. In the end for a finishing touch he used a wig out of real hair to put on the model. He then covered it with wax. The only part of the original sculpture not covered with wax was a ribbon given to him from the model, Marie van Goethem, and a real tutu. Each museum that shows this figure gives it a different tutu. The original wax model was acquired by Paul Mellon in 1956. Beginning in 1985, Mr and Mrs Mellon gave the US National Gallery of Art 49 Degas waxes, 10 bronzes and 2 plasters, the largest group of original Degas sculptures, among them this sculpture.

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

References

^ "Auction results". 2009-02-04.
^ "Degas Ballerina Fails to Sell at Christie's as Markets Plummet". 2011-11-02.

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