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Gallery Text

Degas displayed the wax figure after which this bronze was cast at the sixth impressionist exhibition, in 1881. The only sculpture that he ever presented publicly, the work caused an uproar for its frank realism and use of materials. In depicting Marie van Goethem, one of the lower-class girls training at the Paris Opera Ballet, Degas fashioned the figure out of real materials, including a linen bodice, muslin tutu, satin dance slippers, a wig made of actual hair, and a ribbon to keep it in place. Her worn body, uneven skin, and wrinkled stockings challenged the idealizing tendencies typical of sculpture of the period. Such naturalism prompted the novelist and critic Joris-Karl Huysmans to exclaim, “M. Degas has overthrown the tradition of sculpture, as he has long since shaken the conventions of painting.” Following the artist’s death, the Hébrard foundry cast at least two dozen bronzes after the original, of which this is the third.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.1128
People
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, French (Paris, France 1834 - 1917 Paris, France)
Title
Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen
Other Titles
Original Language Title: Petite danseuse de quatorze ans / La Grande Danseuse
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
1880
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/230005

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2700, European and American Art, 19th century, Impressionism and the Late Nineteenth Century
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze with tulle skirt and satin hair ribbon
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
99.1 x 35.6 x 35.6 cm (39 x 14 x 14 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • stamp: left thigh, stamped, relief: CIRE / PERDUE / AA HÉBRARD
  • foundry mark: left thigh, stamped, relief: C

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Steven C. Clark. [Scott & Fowles, New York, NY], sold; to Grenville Lindall Winthrop, New York, NY, 1924, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.1128
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Barbaranell Hymes, "Degas' Wit", The Christian Science Monitor (January 14, 1975), repr. [unpaginated?]
  • Caroline A. Jones, Modern Art at Harvard: The Formation of the Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Collections of the Harvard University Art Museums (New York, NY and Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press, 1985). With an essay by John Coolidge and a preface by John M. Rosenfield. To accompany the inaugural exhibition at the Sackler Museum, Oct 21 1985 - Jan 5 1986, no. 48, repr.
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), no. 147, p. 130, repr.
  • Sara Campbell, "A Catalogue of Degas' Bronzes", Apollo (New Series) (August 1995), vol. CXLII, no. 402, p. 47
  • Sara Campbell, "Une Danseuse et Trente Tutus", La Revue du Musée d'Orsay, Musée d'Orsay (Paris, France, Autumn 1998), 48/14, no. 7, p. 69; repr. in b/w p. 70, fig. 7
  • Harry Cooper, Sharon Hecker, Henry Lie, and Derek Pullen, Medardo Rosso: Second Impressions, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums and Yale University Press (U.S.) (Cambridge, MA and New Haven, CT, 2003), p. 35, fig. 23
  • Jon Garelick, "Abstract Thoughts: The Transitional and Transcendent Art of Edgar Degas at the Sackler Museum", The Boston Phoenix (August 5 2005), p. 18, p. 18
  • Casey N. Cep, "Curator Defends 'Fake' Degas", The Harvard Crimson (October 28 2005), p. B3, repr. p. B3
  • Kate Ledogar, "'Degas at Harvard,' at the Sackler", The Weekly Dig (October 26 2005), p. 50, p. 50, ill.
  • Christine Temin, "Degas Show at Harvard gives Insight into Cuno", Chicago Tribune (September 4 2005)
  • Keith Powers, "Degas Vu", Cambridge Chronicle (October 20 2005), p. 17, p. 17, repr.
  • Richard Kendall, "Degas", The Burlington Magazine (December 2005), CXLVII, pp. 847-848, p. 847
  • "Distinguished Collection of Degas Masterworks Opens", website, August 4 2005, repr.
  • Christopher Reed, "Mad for Degas", Harvard Magazine (July 2005 - August 2005), vol. 107, no. 6, pp. 40-45, p. 42, ill.
  • "MemberCard Best Bets", GBH: The Members' Guide (August 2005), repr.
  • Bob Jackman, "Shades of Degas", The Patriot Ledger (August 6 2005-August 7 2005), pp. 39-40, repr. p. 39
  • [Reproduction only], "This Week", The Boston Globe, (November 24 2005)., p. 13
  • Meredith Goldstein, "Viva el Degas", The Boston Globe (August 1 2005), Page 1 of "Sidekick" section, repr. p. 1
  • Marjorie B. Cohn and Jean Sutherland Boggs, Degas at Harvard, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums/Yale University Press (Cambridge and New Haven, 2005), pp. 39-40; repr. in color as fig. 23, p . 45; p. 89; no. 11, p. 100
  • Michael Conforti, James A. Ganz, and Neil Harris, The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings, exh. cat., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute/Yale University Press (Williamstown, MA, 2006), p. 322

Exhibition History

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu