Book Description

This volume presents the sculptures of French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917). Degas is known for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist. Although best known as a painter, his most widely known work is a sculpture, "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen". Executed in wax, near life-sized, dressed in a ballerina's tutu, with real ballet slippers and real hair, the sculpture caused a sensation when it was exhibited in 1881. It is the only sculpture Degas ever showed publicly, though more than one hundred -- of dancers, horses, and bathers -- were found in his studio after he died, all dusty, some fallen apart. This work includes essays on Degas' life and work, his sculptural technique and materials, and the story of the sculptures after his death. It features art-historical and technical discussions of every work in the collection as well as concordances and bibliography.