Elena Rossi
Impressionist painter and sculptor Edgar Degas is famous for his depictions of ballerinas, with the tutu-clad dancers featuring in around 1,500 of his paintings, monotypes, and drawings. While the soft colours and joyful scenes of his works have made them some of the most beloved in art history, there is a darker side to these images. Degas' interest in the harsh realities of modern life is reflected in his paintings, which are said to suggest the ballerinas as sex workers and their male patrons. Degas' mature style is also distinguished by conspicuously unfinished passages, which he blamed on his failing eyesight.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Edgar Degas |
| Painting Title | The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer |
| Year | c. 1880 |
| Medium | Sculpture |
| Subject | A young ballerina |
| Tutus | Softly coloured, with a dark patina on the girl's body and a pink hue on the bodice |
| Impressionist Exhibitions | Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1881 |
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What You'll Learn
Edgar Degas' interest in movement and people
Edgar Degas is widely recognised for his interest in movement and people, particularly ballet dancers. This interest is reflected in his choice of subject matter, which included ballet dancers, laundresses, milliners, and denizens of Parisian low life. Degas produced approximately 1,500 works on the subject of ballet dancers, more than half of his total oeuvre.
Degas's paintings of dancers are not traditional portraits but studies that address the movement of the human body, exploring the physicality and discipline of the dancers through the use of contorted postures and unexpected vantage points. For instance, in "Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper" (1873), the dancer's pose is viewed from a steep angle, with both her feet and head at the bottom of the picture, conveying a sense of the dancer's flexibility.
Degas's interest in movement and people can also be seen in his use of snapshots that freeze moments in time to portray them accurately, imparting a sense of movement. For example, in "Place de la Concorde," Degas captures a fleeting moment in the flow of modern life, a technique influenced by the Impressionist movement and modern photography, with its spontaneous images and off-kilter angles.
Degas's paintings often featured men on the sidelines, brought to the forefront in paintings such as "Orchestra Musicians" (1872). The element of voyeurism in his work is undeniable, as he frequently depicted scenes from the perspective of a distracted spectator, capturing the movement of the spectator's eyes during a random glance.
Degas's interest in people extended beyond the ballet world, as he also produced portraits of individuals from various walks of life, including portraits of Jewish businessmen ("Portraits, At the Stock Exchange," 1879) and juvenile gang members ("Criminal Physiognomies," 1881). Degas's portraits are notable for their psychological complexity and their portrayal of human isolation.
While Degas is often associated with the Impressionist movement, he himself rejected this label, preferring to be called a realist. He differed from other Impressionists in that he rarely painted en plein air, instead favouring scenes in theatres and cafes illuminated by artificial light.
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Degas' sculptures, including 'Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen'
Edgar Degas' sculpture "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen" (French: "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans") is the artist's only sculpture exhibited in his lifetime. It is also Degas' largest and most ambitious sculpture. The work depicts a young student of the Paris Opera Ballet dance school, a Belgian named Marie van Goethem. Marie was the daughter of a Belgian tailor and a laundress, and her working-class background was typical of the Paris Opera school's ballerinas.
The sculpture was begun around 1880 and exhibited in 1881 at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris. It is two-thirds life-size and was originally sculpted in wax, an unusual choice of medium at the time. The 1881 sculpture was dressed in a real bodice, tutu, and ballet slippers, with a wig of human hair. All but the hair, ribbon, and tutu were coated in wax. The tutu was made of tulle and gauze, and the dancer also wore a silk hair ribbon. The sculpture's arms are taut, and the legs and feet are placed in a ballet position akin to fourth position at rest, with tension in the pose.
The work received mixed reviews when it was first exhibited. While some critics acknowledged the work's astonishing realism and revolutionary nature, others found it ugly, dirty, and degenerate. Joris-Karl Huysmans called it "the first truly modern attempt at sculpture I know," while others compared the dancer to a monkey. Many critics were shocked by the figure's unprecedented realism, with one critic commenting on the "vicious muzzle of this little girl hardly in puberty, [a] flower of the gutter."
After Degas' death, his heirs decided to have bronze casts made of "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen." The Hébrard foundry in Paris created these casts from 1920 until 1936, and the Valsuani foundry in Paris took over until the mid-1970s. There are at least 28 bronze casts of the sculpture today, appearing in museums and galleries worldwide. One copy was sold for £13,257,250 ($19,077,250) at Sotheby's in 2009. The sculpture has also appeared in popular culture, including in the 1993 film "Malice" and the 2020 Netflix series "Tiny Pretty Things."
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Degas' use of pastel colours and quick brushstrokes
Edgar Degas is often regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, though he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist. Degas's work is distinguished by conspicuously unfinished passages, even in otherwise tightly rendered paintings. He frequently blamed his eye troubles for his inability to finish, an explanation that was met with scepticism from his colleagues and collectors.
Degas's experimentation with pastels and watercolours is considered unparalleled in 19th-century French art. He often combined rough marks of powdery pastel with flowing lines of watercolour, juxtaposing contrasting yet harmonious colours. In "Two Women", for instance, he first laid in vertical brushstrokes of purple-red watercolour and washes of light brown. He then overlaid the strokes of watercolour with dappled, horizontal marks of pastel in blue-green and red-orange. By applying denser, less open marks of pastel in the figures, he made the intricately coloured background recede in space.
Degas also experimented with applying the same material in different ways. In several works, he crushed pastel sticks and mixed the crumbled pigment with water, sometimes adding gum arabic, to make a thick matte paint that he applied with a brush. To colour the bodices of the women's dresses, he may have hastily thrown bits of pastel into liquid and puddled the mixture on the paper. As it dried, the watery paint deposited lacy trails of clumped pigment that resemble patterned silk.
Degas's method often began with a tonal under-drawing in charcoal, which helped to darken some of the pastel colours where it showed through from beneath. He would then spray the charcoal with a layer of fixative before applying pastel to the girls' faces and hair—purples and cool pinks to the skin and greens to the hair. He would then seal these colours with another layer of fixative before applying more conventional pale-orange, warm skin colours in diagonal hatching, allowing the previous layer to be visible in the gaps.
Degas's pastel works are characterised by layering, with varied ways of applying the material: hatching and scribbling with the tip of the pastel; laying on 'washes' with the side of the stick; and dotting and dashing. He also used fixative between layers to seal in the pastel, preventing it from being smudged and giving the drawing's surface a 'tooth' that would allow the addition of fresh marks.
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The dark truth behind Degas' paintings of ballerinas
Edgar Degas is a household name, known for his whimsical Impressionist portrayals of ballet dancers. However, behind the glitz, glamour, and youthful innocence of his paintings lies a darker truth.
Degas' paintings of ballerinas highlight the unrealistic body standards imposed on them. The obsession with achieving a certain physique often led to extreme measures, such as restrictive diets and excessive exercise, which took a toll on the dancers' physical and mental well-being. Through his artwork, Degas sheds light on the dangerous consequences of these beauty standards. While his paintings primarily focus on performances and rehearsals, they also offer glimpses into the hidden world backstage. Here, dancers dealt with intense rivalries, jealousy, and the pressure to perform flawlessly.
Degas' work also reflects the economic challenges faced by dancers, who were often underpaid and struggled financially. The luxurious atmosphere of the performances, as depicted in paintings such as "The Dance Class" (1874), "Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage" (1874), and "Orchestra Musicians" (1872), contrasts with the dancers' financial reality. Many dancers came from working-class or impoverished backgrounds and turned to sex work to support themselves and their families. The grand opera house, Palais Garnier, was designed with this in mind, including a room called the foyer de la danse, where dancers would warm up and entertain patrons.
The power dynamics between the dancers and their patrons are evident in paintings such as "Ballet" (1876), also known as "The Star," which features a young ballerina in the foreground and a distinguishable figure in a black tuxedo in the background. It is rumored that ballerinas who spent more time with their backstage patrons were given better roles, adding a darker layer to Degas' paintings.
Degas' mature style is distinguished by unfinished passages, which he often blamed on his eye troubles. However, some colleagues and collectors were skeptical of this explanation, noting that his works captured movement and raw emotions effectively.
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Degas' influence on and rejection of Impressionism
Edgar Degas is considered "one of the founders of Impressionism" and played a crucial role in influencing the movement. However, he rejected the Impressionist label, preferring to be known as a "Realist" or "Independent".
Degas's work exhibited several Impressionist characteristics. He sought to capture fleeting moments in modern life, experimenting with vivid colours, bold brushstrokes, and unconventional perspectives. Like many Impressionists, he was influenced by Japanese prints, adopting more simplified compositions and experimenting with photography. Degas also shared the movement's interest in the effects of light and scenes of urban leisure.
Despite these similarities, Degas's academic training and personal preferences set him apart from his Impressionist peers. He favoured drawing over painting, working from sketches and memory, and preferred the studio to painting en plein air. Degas's focus on line and composition conflicted with the Impressionists' emphasis on colour and texture. He also rejected the academic ideal of historical or mythical subjects, instead seeking contemporary themes, such as ballet, opera, and racecourses.
Degas's unique approach to art is evident in his pioneering ballet scenes, such as "The Ballet Class" (1873-1876), and his close observation of human subjects, as seen in "A Carriage at the Races" (1873). His portraits, noted for their psychological complexity, often depicted human isolation. Degas's lower-class subjects and unconventional perspectives drew criticism, but his works were also admired for their superb draftsmanship.
While Degas rejected the Impressionist label, he actively participated in the movement. He helped organise the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and exhibited his works in subsequent shows. He also influenced other Impressionist artists, notably Mary Cassatt, with whom he shared a mutual admiration. Despite his aversion to the label, Degas's innovative techniques and subject matter firmly tie him to the Impressionist movement as one of its greatest artists.
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Frequently asked questions
The painting is called "The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer" or "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen".
"The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer" was painted by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas.
"The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer" was painted circa 1880 or 1881.
"The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer" is a sculpture made of wax.
