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Lot Essay
Showing a dancer in standing with one leg and one arm thrusting out, Edgar Degas' Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude is one of the most intriguing of his sculptural compositions.
This work contains an incredible sense of balance, with the figure resting on one foot while limbs are held out at a perpendicular angle, crested by the left arm which is held high. Degas explored the 'fourth position' in three surviving sculptural compositions, revealing his fascination with its sense of poise and balance. Alongside Danseuse, position de quatriéme devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude, another two show a figure who is believed to have been another model, as the proportions of the limbs are markedly different. However, the focus on the rightangles that make Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude such an intriguing sight, remain crucial to each of them. Looking at the surface of Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude, Degas' own enthusiasm feels almost tangible. Even in the cast bronze, one can see where the artist added wax to the armature that he had originally used as a supporting structure in its creation. In this way, he gradually built up the composition, adding wax and smoothing it out bit by bit, conjuring the form of the dancer. The vigorously-worked surface of Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième etude adds a haptic quality to the sculpture. The presence of these traces of Degas' original gestures, as his hand and tools swept across the original wax maquette over a century ago, lends it a fascinating sense of immediacy, while also heightening its sense of expressiveness. Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude shows a dancer in the midst of her ballet, rather than in a stolen moment of preparation. Despite being shown without her tutu, she is clearly assuming a balletic position, her arms and legs held up in a formal moment, rather than the intimate snapshots of so many of Degas' sculptures and images. This moment of supreme balance for the dancer allows Degas to explore the reality of mass in the movement in the ballerinas, a quality that had brought him to sculpture in the first place. Discussing the importance of sculpture to Franois Thiébault-Sisson, Degas said: 'Draw a dancing figure. With a little skill, you should be able to create an illusion for a short time. But however painstakingly you study your adaptation, you will achieve nothing more than an insubstantial silhouette, lacking all notions of mass and of volume and devoid of precision. You will achieve truth only through modelling because this is an art that puts an artist under an obligation to neglect none of the essentials' (Edgar Degas, recorded by F. Thiébault-Sisson, in R. Kendall, Degas by Himself: Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Writings, London, 1987, p. 245).
This work contains an incredible sense of balance, with the figure resting on one foot while limbs are held out at a perpendicular angle, crested by the left arm which is held high. Degas explored the 'fourth position' in three surviving sculptural compositions, revealing his fascination with its sense of poise and balance. Alongside Danseuse, position de quatriéme devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude, another two show a figure who is believed to have been another model, as the proportions of the limbs are markedly different. However, the focus on the rightangles that make Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude such an intriguing sight, remain crucial to each of them. Looking at the surface of Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude, Degas' own enthusiasm feels almost tangible. Even in the cast bronze, one can see where the artist added wax to the armature that he had originally used as a supporting structure in its creation. In this way, he gradually built up the composition, adding wax and smoothing it out bit by bit, conjuring the form of the dancer. The vigorously-worked surface of Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième etude adds a haptic quality to the sculpture. The presence of these traces of Degas' original gestures, as his hand and tools swept across the original wax maquette over a century ago, lends it a fascinating sense of immediacy, while also heightening its sense of expressiveness. Danseuse, position de quatrième devant sur la jambe gauche, troisième étude shows a dancer in the midst of her ballet, rather than in a stolen moment of preparation. Despite being shown without her tutu, she is clearly assuming a balletic position, her arms and legs held up in a formal moment, rather than the intimate snapshots of so many of Degas' sculptures and images. This moment of supreme balance for the dancer allows Degas to explore the reality of mass in the movement in the ballerinas, a quality that had brought him to sculpture in the first place. Discussing the importance of sculpture to Franois Thiébault-Sisson, Degas said: 'Draw a dancing figure. With a little skill, you should be able to create an illusion for a short time. But however painstakingly you study your adaptation, you will achieve nothing more than an insubstantial silhouette, lacking all notions of mass and of volume and devoid of precision. You will achieve truth only through modelling because this is an art that puts an artist under an obligation to neglect none of the essentials' (Edgar Degas, recorded by F. Thiébault-Sisson, in R. Kendall, Degas by Himself: Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Writings, London, 1987, p. 245).