Little Dancer at Age Fourteen Alison Yorinks AP Art History

Translation Since the creator of Little Dancer at Age Fourteen, Edgar Degas, was French, the actual title of the sculpture is La Petite Dansuese de Quatorze Ans.

History Who was this dancer? Marie van Goethem was the model for Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer at Age Fourteen. When her father died, at sometime, Marie, her mother, and her sisters moved to 'Rue Notre-Dame de Lorette' called 'Place Breda' near the studio of Degas at 'Rue Saint-Georges' . Her mother became a laundress and Marie and her sisters became students at the Paris Opera Ballet school.

Who was this dancer? Continued… History Who was this dancer? Continued… By performing as an extra for the company and the Opera, she contributed to the income of the family. Edgar Degas went more frequently to the ballet performances at the Paris Opera House, observing the movements of the ballerinas. Marie, as well as her sisters posed for artists to make extra money, and probably earned up to 6 or 10 francs per sitting.

History Why so controversial? It took Degas to complete Little Dancer at Age Fourteen, from 1880 to 1881. The sculpture first debuted at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in 1881 and viewers were disgusted to see that it was one of the young opera dancers. Also, the piece was revealed and displaced in a glass case, making it look like a “medical experiment.” Little Dancer also received mixed reviews. The majority of the critics thought that it was ugly and that the head and face looked “grotesque” and “primitive.”

History Originally… Originally, when it was first shown to the public in 1881, Little Dancer at Age Fourteen was made out of wax, an unusual choice of material for a sculpture of this time. Then, the sculpture was cast in plaster, before it was cast in bronze in 1922.

What is patinated bronze? History What is patinated bronze? Little Dancer of Age Fourteen wasn’t just cast in any old bronze, but in patinated bronze. Patina is a chemical compound that forms on the surface of metal from exposure to the elements. Artists and metalworkers deliberately add the chemical compound as part of the decoration or design.

Patinated bronze? Continued… History Patinated bronze? Continued… The chemical process by which a patina forms is called patination, and a work of art coated by a patina is called patinated. A green surface texture created by slow chemical alteration of copper, produces a basic carbonate, a example of a patina. Patinas can form on pure copper objects as well as alloys which contain copper, such as bronze or brass.

Patinated bronze? Continued… History Patinated bronze? Continued…

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The Artist Edgar Degas

The Artist He was the eldest of five siblings. Interesting Facts!! He was the eldest of five siblings. The family name "Degas" had been changed to "De Gas" by some family members in Naples and France in order to sound more aristocratic; the preposition indicated a name derived from land holdings. Degas went back to using the original spelling sometime after 1870, and that is how we spell his name today.

More Interesting Facts!! The Artist More Interesting Facts!! In 1855, Degas met Jean Auguste Dominisue Ingres, whom he revered, and was advised by him to "draw lines, young man, many lines." In April of that same year, Degas received admission to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Degas enlisted in the National Guard, where his defense of Paris left him little time for painting. During rifle training his eyesight was found to be defective, and for the rest of his life his eye problems were a constant worry to him.

Even More Interesting Facts!! The Artist Even More Interesting Facts!! As the years passed, Degas became isolated, due in part to his belief "that a painter could have no personal life." The Dreyfus Affair controversy brought his anti-Semitic leanings to the fore and he broke with all his Jewish friends. In later life, Degas regretted the loss of those friends.

Even Much More Interesting Facts!! The Artist Even Much More Interesting Facts!! Degas is often identified as an Impressionist, but didn’t see himself that way. He saw himself as a “realist” and urged others to be the same, get inspiration from their own environments. Then draw and paint their experiences. The Impressionists painted the realities of the world around them using bright, "dazzling" colors, and concentrating primarily on the effects of light. Although Degas did paint some landscapes, he was known to have thought the subject minor, choosing instead to study the gestures and poses of human figures in interior settings.

Edgar Degas ~ Self Portrait

Another Little Dancer? A similar sculpture Degas made was called Dancer, Dressed and at Rest. It is also made of wax, but unlike Little Dancer at Age Fourteen, this sculpture’s texture is bumpy and coarse, and much less distinctive facial expressions.

Now, it's...

My Opinion! When I saw Little Dancer at Age Fourteen in the middle of the room, just standing there on the column, I started to get emotional. I’d see the sculpture in art museum and art history books and there was just something about it. I don’t know what, but there was something. And then turning the corner of the wing and seeing in real like for the first time… If I could express my experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in one word, it’d have to be “incredible”… and maybe even the word “jaw-dropping.” It wasn’t just paintings and sculptures, but art and artifacts from throughout history…

There was… Photographs Medieval art Modern art Asian art Arms and armor Musical instruments European decorative arts The Costume Institute Greek and Roman art and much more!

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