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Overview

At the sixth impressionist exhibition in the spring of 1881, Edgar Degas presented the only sculpture that he would ever exhibit in public. The Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, the title given by the artist, has become one of the most beloved works of art, well known through the many bronze casts produced from this unique original statuette, following the artist's death.

The sculpture was not so warmly received when she first appeared. The critics protested almost unanimously that she was ugly, but had to acknowledge the work's astonishing realism as well as its revolutionary nature. The mixed media of the Little Dancer, basically a wax statuette dressed in real clothes, was very innovative, most of all because she was considered a modern subject—a student dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet. Marie van Goethem, the model for the figure, was the daughter of a Belgian tailor and a laundress; her working–class background was typical of the Paris Opera school's ballerinas. These dancers were known as "petits rats de l'opéra," literally opera rats, presumably because of their scurrying around the opera stage in tiny, fast–moving steps. But the derogatory association of the name with dirt and poverty was also intentional. Young, pretty, and poor, the ballet students also were potential targets of male "protectors." Degas understood the predicament of the Little Dancer—what the contemporary reviewer Joris–Karl Huysmans called her "terrible reality." The Little Dancer is a very poignant, deeply felt work of art in which a little girl of fourteen, in spite of the difficult position in which she is placed, both physically and psychologically, struggles for a measure of dignity: her head is held high, though her arms and hands are uncomfortably stretched behind her back.

In the context of the evolution of sculpture, the Little Dancer is a groundbreaking work of art. The liberating idea that any medium or technique necessary to convey the desired effect is fair game may be traced back to this sculpture. Degas represented a working–class subject, though not an everyday one, with both realism and compassion, but without moralizing. In so doing, he captured with brilliant simplicity the difficult tension between art and life.

Inscription

on proper left back corner of base: Degas

Provenance

The artist [1834-1917]; his heirs;[1] Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard [1865-1937], Paris;[2] his daughter, Nelly Hébrard [1904-1985], Paris;[3] consigned 1955 to (M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York); purchased May 1956 by Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; bequest 1999 to NGA.

[1] The artist's heirs were René De Gas, his last surviving brother, who lived in Paris, and the four (of seven) surviving children of his sister Marguerite, who had died in Argentina in 1895. (His other deceased sister Thérèse left no descendants.) Marguerite's children were: Jeanne Fevre, unmarried and acting on both her own behalf and as the representative of her sister, Madeleine Marie Pauline Fevre, a Carmelite nun; Henri Jean Auguste Marie Fevre, an industrialist who lived in Marseille; and Gabriel Edgar Eugène Fevre, an agent in Montevideo, Uruguay. See Anne Pingeot and Frank Horvat, Degas sculptures, Paris, 1991, and Anne Pingeot, "The casting of Degas' sculptures: Completing the story," Apollo (August 1995): 60-63.

[2] On 13 May 1918 a contract was signed between the artist's heirs and the Hébrard foundry authorizing the reproduction of Degas' sculptures in bronze. Of the approximately 150 statuettes found in the artist's studio after his death, 74 figures were ultimately cast in bronze. The contract stipulated that two complete sets were to be cast, one for the heirs and one for the foundry, and authorized a limit of twenty casts of each figure to be offered for sale. The casting process took at least thirteen years, from 1919 to 1932, and according to the contract, the original figures became the property of the foundry. See Sara Campbell, "Degas' bronzes: Introduction," Apollo (August 1995): 6-10.

[3] The article by Anne Pingeot referenced in note 1 provides details of the role of Hébrard's daughter in the history of the foundry, and its work in casting the bronzes.

Exhibition History
1881
6me Exposition de Peinture, 35 bd. des Capucines, Paris, 1881, no. 12, as Petite Danseuse de quatorze ans (statuette en cire).
1920
Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Paris, 1920.
1920
Possibly Trois siècles d'art français, Paris, possibly 1920s-1930s.
1921
Exposition des Sculptures de Degas, Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Paris, 1921, no. 73.
1924
Exposition Degas au profit de la Ligue Franco-Anglo-Américaine contre le cancer: Peintures, pastels et dessins, sculptures, eaux-fortes, lithographies et monotypes, Galeries Georges Petit (sculpture shown at Galerie A.A. Hébrard), Paris, 1924, possibly no. 290 or not in cat.
1929
Possibly on loan to the Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1929.
1955
Edgar Degas 1834-1917: Original Wax Sculptures, M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York, 1955, no. 20, repro., as Ballet Dancer, Dressed.
1956
Sculpture by Degas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1956.
1991
Art for the Nation: Gifts in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1991, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
1999
An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999-2000, as Little Dancer Fourteen Years Old (Ballet Dancer, Dressed), no cat.
2014
Degas's Little Dancer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2014-2015, brochure, cover repro.
2019
Degas at the Opera, Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019-2020, no. 275 (shown only in Washington).
Bibliography
1880
Goetschy, Gustave. "Indépendants et impressionistes." Le Voltaire (6 April 1880): 2.
1881
Bertall [Charles-Albert d'Arnoux]. "Exposition: Des Peintres intransigeants et nihilistes: 36, boulevard des Capucines." Paris-Journal (21 April 1881): 1.
1881
Claretie, Jules. "La Vie à Paris: Les Artistes indépendants." La Vie à Paris: 1881. Paris, 1881: 150-151. First published, with some variation, in Le Temps, 5 April 1881: 3.
1881
Comtesse Louise. "Lettres familières sur l'art: Salon de 1881." La France nouvelle (1-2 May 1881): 3.
1881
de Charry, Paul. "Les Indépendants." Le Pays (22 April 1881): 3.
1881
de Mont, Élie [Elisée-Louis de Montagnac]. "L'Exposition du boulevard des Capucines." La Civilization (21 April 1881): 2.
1881
de Villars, Nina [Marie-Anne Gaillard, Mme Hector de Callias Villard]. "Variétés: Exposition des artistes indépendants." Le Courrier du Soir (23 April 1881): 2.
1881
Enault, Louis. "Chronique." Moniteur des arts (15 April 1881): 1.
1881
Ephrussi, Charles. "Exposition des artistes indépendants." La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité (16 April 1881): 126.
1881
Goetschy, Gustave. "Exposition des artistes indépendants." Le Voltaire (5 April 1881): 1-2.
1881
Mantz, Paul. "Exposition des oeuvres des artistes indépendants." Le Temps (23 April 1881): 3.
1881
Our Lady Correspondent. [Untitled, and unsigned, review of the Exposition des oeuvres des artistes indépendants]. Artist 2 (1 May 1881): 153. In Impressionists in England: The Critical Reception. Edited by Kate Flint. London, 1984: 41-43.
1881
Trianon, Henry. "Sixième Exposition de peinture par un groupe d'artistes: 35, boulevard es Capucines." Le Constitutionnel (24 April 1881): 2-3.
1882
Champier, Victor. "La Société des artistes indépendants." L'Année artistique: 1881. Paris, 1882: 167-169.
1883
Huysmans, Joris-Karl. "L'Exposition des indépendants en 1881." In L'Art Moderne. Paris, 1883: 225-257.
1918
Gsell, Paul. "Edgar Degas, statuaire." La Renaissance de l'Art Français et des Industries de Luxe (December 1918): 373-378.
1918
Lafond, Paul. Degas. 2 vols. Paris, 1918-1919: 2(1919):64-66.
1918
Thiébault-Sisson, François. "La Vie artistique Edgar Degas: L'Homme et l'oeuvre." Le Temps (18 May 1918): 3.
1919
"Edgar Degas, a Sculptor as Well as Painter: Plastic Studies by the Great French Master." Vanity Fair 12, no. 1 (March 1919): 49-50, repro.
1919
Lemoisne, Paul-André. "Les statuettes de Degas." Art et Décoration 214 (September-October 1919): 109-117, esp. 111-113, repro.
1924
Jamot, Paul. Degas. Paris, 1924: 127, 149, pl. 52.
1944
Rewald, John. Degas, Works in Sculpture: A Complete Catalogue. Translated by John Coleman and Noel Moulton. New York, 1944: no. XX, repro.
1946
Lemoisne, Paul André. Degas et son Oeuvre. 4 vols. Paris, 1946-1949: 1(1946):127-128, 246, 249-250.
1961
Havemeyer, Louisine B. Sixteen to Sixty: Memoirs of a Collector. New York, 1961: 254-255.
1970
Reff, Theodore. "Degas' Sculpture, 1880-1884." Art Quarterly 33, no. 3 (1970): 276-298, esp. 277.
1976
Millard, Charles W. The Sculpture of Edgar Degas. Princeton, 1976: 8-9, 23, 27-29, 60-63, 98-99, fig. 26, color pl. opp. p. 62.
1976
Reff, Theodore. Degas: The Artist's Mind. New York and London, 1976: 239-248 (reprint Cambridge, Massachusetts 1987).
1976
Reff, Theodore. "Edgar Degas' 'Little Ballet Dancer of Fourteen Years'." Arts Magazine 51, no. 1 (September 1976): 66-69.
1988
Failing, Patricia. "Cast in Bronze: The Degas Dilemma." Art News 87, no. 1 (January 1988): 136-141, esp. 137, 139, repro.
1989
Degas inédit: Actes du Colloque Degas, Musée d'Orsay 18-21 avril 1988. Essays by Gary Tinterow and Anne M.P. Norton (translated by Jeanne Bouniort), and Douglas Druick. Paris, 1989: fig. 1, 327, 336-337.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 277.
1991
Loyrette, Henri. Degas. Paris, 1991: 387, 391-394, 402, 612-614, 672, repro.
1991
Luchs, Alison. "The Degas Waxes, c. 1878 - c. 1911." In Art for the Nation: Gifts in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.: 1991: 182-183, repro.
1991
Pingeot, Anne. Degas Sculptures. Paris, 1991: no. 73, repro.
1995
Callen, Anthea. The Spectacular Body: Science, Method, and Meaning in the Work of Degas. New Haven and London, 1995: 1, 16, 21-29, 69, pl. 1.
1995
Campbell, Sara. "A Catalogue of Degas' Bronzes." Apollo 142 (August 1995): 10-48, 46-47, fig. 71.
1996
Berson, Ruth, ed. The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886 -- Documentation. 2 vols. San Francisco, 1996: 1:282-283, 330-337, 339, 344-345, 348-362, 366-371.
1996
Blühm, Andreas, et al. Essays by Wolfgang Drost and June Hargrove. In The Colour of Sculpture, 1840-1910. Exh. cat. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 1996: 68-70, 105.
1998
Druick, Douglas. "Framing The Little Dancer Aged Fourteen." In Richard Kendall, with contributions by Douglas W. Druick and Arthur Beale. Degas and the Little Dancer. Exh. cat. Josyln Art Museum, Omaha. New Haven and London, 1998: 76-96, repro.
1998
Hargrove, June. "Degas's 'Little 14-year-old Dancer:' Madonna of the Third Republic?" Sculpture Journal 2 (1998): 97-105, fig. 1.
1998
Hargrove, June. "Degas's 'Little Dancer' in the World of Pantomime." Apollo 147, no. 432 (February 1998): 15-21, fig. 1.
1998
Kahane, Martine, Delphine Pinasa, Wilfried Piollet, and Sara Campbell. “Enquête sur la Petite Danseuse de quatorze ans de Degas.” 48/14: La Revue du Musée d’Orsay, no. 7 (Autumn 1998): 48-71; abbreviated translation in Czestochowski and Pingeot 2002, 101-107.
1999
Schaller, Catherine. "Edgar Degas et la physiognomonie." Annales d'histoire de l'art et d'archéologie 21 (1999): 103-111, fig. 5.
2000
National Gallery of Art Special Issue. Connaissance des Arts. Paris, 2000: 62, repro. 63.
2001
Hargrove, June. "Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer: Madonna of the Third Republic?" In Horizons: Essays on art and Art Research. Edited by Hans-Jörg Heusser. Zurich, 2001: 147-156, fig. 1.
2002
Czestochowski, Joseph S., and Anne Pingeot. Degas--Sculptures. Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes. Memphis, 2002: 265, repro.
2005
Bretell, Richard R., and Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark. Gauguin and Impressionism. Exh. cat. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth; Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen. New Haven, 2005: 70, 108, 126, 128-129, 131-132, 136, 138, 140-142, 144, 146-147; figs. 79, 92, 102.
2005
Cate, Phillip Dennis, ed. Breaking the Mold: Sculpture in Paris from Daumier to Rodin. Exh. cat. Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. New Brunswick, 2005: fig. 24.
2010
Lindsay, Suzanne Glover, Daphne S. Barbour, and Shelley G. Sturman. Edgar Degas Sculpture. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2010: no. 15, 116-137, color repro.
2013
Marks, Peter. "Peck to Bring Degas Piece to Life, and On Pointe." The Washington Post 136, no. 275 (6 September 2013): C-2, color repro.
2014
Kennicott, Philip. "As Disturbing as Enchanting." Washington Post 137, no. 318 (October 19, 2014): E13, color fig.
2016
Morton, Mary. "Paul Mellon: Private collector for the public." In Collecting for the Public: Works that Made a Difference. Essays for Peter Hecht. Edited by Bart Cornelis, Ger Luijten, Louis van Tilborgh, and Tim Zeedijk. Translated by Michael Hoyle. London, 2016: 32 fig. 11, 33, 37.
2017
Barbour, Daphne, and Shelley Sturman. "Casting Degas's Sculpture into Bronze: A Closer Look." In Degas, Daphne Barbour and Suzanne Quillen Lomax, eds. Facture. Conservation, Science, Art History 3 (2017): 78-111, esp. 78, 80, 92-94, 98-102, figs. 12 and 19 (detail).
2017
Kendall, Richard. "Degas and Difficulty." In Degas, Daphne Barbour and Suzanne Quillen Lomax, eds. Facture. Conservation, Science, Art History 2 (2017): 15-16, fig. 15.
2017
Lomax, Suzanne Quillen, Barbara H. Berrie, and Michael Palmer. "Edgar Degas's Wax Sculptures: Characterization and Comparison with Contemporary Practice." In Degas, Daphne Barbour and Suzanne Quillen Lomax, eds. Facture. Conservation, Science, Art History 3 (2017): 50-77, esp. 50, 52, 55, 66, figs. 1 and 14 (photomicrograph of wax sample).
2017
Luchs, Alison. “The Little Dancer in Wax and Words: Reading a Sonnet by Edgar Degas.” In Degas, Daphne Barbour and Suzanne Quillen Lomax, eds. Facture. Conservation, Science, Art History 3 (2017): 158-175, figs. 1, 2 (detail), 3 (x-radiograph detail), 12 (detail), 15.
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