Edgar Degas
(France 1834–1917)
- Title
- Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot
- Alternative title:
- Danseuse regardant la plante de son pied droit
- Year
- 1900-1910
cast 1919-1921 - Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- bronze, cire perdu (lost wax)
- Dimensions
-
48.0cm height
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Bequest of Paul Haefliger 1982
- Accession number
- 60.1983
- Location
- 19th & 20th c European art
- Further information
Although a founding and exhibiting member of the French Impressionists, Degas' preoccupation with the human figure and his intimate engagement with the minutiae of everyday life set him apart from the aims and methods of the group. "My art" he insisted, "has nothing spontaneous about it, it is all reflection" (Monnier). The distinctive linearity of Degas' work - a product of his classical training - evolved into a dynamic vocabulary of gesture and movement. His 600 or so variations on the theme of ballerinas have been compared to the photographic studies of animal and human locomotion undertaken by Eadweard Muybridge in the 1870s and '80s. Degas' fascination with the moving body was extended and developed through his sculptures, many of them produced as wax sketches and not cast until after his death.
Monnier, G. "Degas" J. Turner, ed. 'The Dictionary of Art' 34 vols. London: Macmillan, 1996
- Bibliography (8)
-
Margaret Olley (Australia, b.1923, d.2011) (Author), Barry Humphries (Australia, b.1934) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Director), Christine France (Australia) (Co-ordinator), Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from public and private collections, Sydney, 2000. Catalogue entry appears in inserted list to printed catalogue
Anthony Bond (England; Australia) (Author), Body, Melbourne, 1997, 15 (colour illus.), 143,. figure 4, cat.no. 36
Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Sydney, 1986, (illus.). cat.no. 136
'Lost and found: a decade of sculpture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales' by Greame Sturgeon pg. 74-79, Art and Australia (Vol. 22, No. 1) Spring 1984, Spring 1984, 74-75 (illus.), 78.
'The Degas bronzes Degas never knew' by Patricia Failing, pg. 38-41, ARTnews Apr 1979, Apr 1979.
C.W. Millard (Author), The sculpture of Edgar Degas, New Jersey, 1976, 18-19.
Degas sculpture, the complete works circa 1957, circa 1957, (illus.).
Kunstmuseum Bern (Switzerland) (Author), Degas, Bern, 1951.
- Exhibition history (5)
-
Degas, Kunstmuseum Bern, 25 Nov 1951–13 Jan 1952.
Five years on: a selection of acquisitions 1981-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 26 Sep 1986–23 Nov 1986.
Body, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 12 Sep 1997–16 Nov 1997.
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from Australian collections (2000), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 15 Jan 2000–27 Feb 2000.
Monet and the Impressionists, Te Papa - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 14 Feb 2009–17 May 2009.
