When we visited NOMA, it was the debut day for Edgar Degas' Little
Dancer Aged Fourteen.
The only three-dimensional work exhibited during his
lifetime, it will be the highlight of a focus exhibition that runs at the museum till March 1, 2015.
A selection of related works of art by Degas from NOMA's permanent
collection will be displayed alongside the Little Dancer, including a pastel, a
smaller bronze sculpture, and drawings and prints of one of Degas' favored
subjects-the dancer.
The exhibit was very easy for a wheelchair user to view.
All displays feature views that are unobstructed for wheelers.
According to a NOMA press release:
Degas modeled Little Dancer Aged
Fourteen out of colored wax in 1880, but it wasn't until 1922 when the Little
Dancer and the other sculptures found in the artist's studio were cast
posthumously by the Hébrard foundry at the request of the artist's nieces and
nephew.
The bronze on view is one of 23 known bronze versions of the Little
Dancer, and is in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA).
Now considered one of Degas' most
important works, his sculpture of Marie van Goethem, a young novice at the
Paris Opera Ballet, caused a sensation at the 1881 impressionist exhibition in
Paris.
Originally exhibited like an anthropological specimen under a vitrine,
and embellished with a muslin tutu, linen bodice, ballet slippers, and a real
hair wig tied with a satin ribbon, this wax sculpture of a novice ballerina or
"rat" standing in relaxed fourth position was described by critics as
"ugly" and "a threat to society."
The bronze version also
feature a fabric tutu and satin ribbon.
The realistic treatment of her face and
the use of unorthodox materials highlighted his desire for naturalism as an
artistic standard rather than idealization.
NOMA is at One Collins Diboll Circle, City Park. Admission is $10.
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