Degas Little Dance of Fourteen Years Ballerina Ballet Fabric Tutu Statue

Petite Danseuse De Quatorze Ans (Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, 1879-1881), is the only sculpture Edgar Degas chose to exhibit throughout his lifetime. He created a revolutionary piece breaking the stereotypical cold inanimate sculptures of his time. He made his dancer come to life. Although received with some disapproval because of its stark realism, it has become one of the most time honored, beloved sculptures around the world.

EDGAR DEGAS (French, 1834-1917): Together with Monet the founder of French Impressionism, Edgar Degas was famous for his innovative compositions in his paintings and later in his sculptures. Degas created a tremendous amount of artworks. For an example, just with his ballerina images and sculptures, the surviving artworks total more than 1,500 plus in various stages of development (sketches, prints, monotypes, paintings, drawings and sculptures). For 10 years he sketched the young women training and then reused the sketches for new artworks during the next 40 years. The early rehearsal scenes were done in oil; and in 1878, he started using pastels for his dancers, nudes and horse-track scenes.