id: 172659 accession number: 1947.2028 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1947.2028 updated: 2023-08-26 11:09:38.547000 Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot, 1896–97. Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). Bronze; overall: 46.4 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm (18 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection 1947.2028 title: Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1896–97 creation date earliest: 1896 creation date latest: 1897 current location: 222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism creditline: Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: bronze department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture collection: Mod Euro - Sculpture 1800-1960 type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917) - artist Son of a Parisian banker, Edgar Degas enrolled in law school in 1853 following his father's wishes. But he had already shown an interest in art and had also registered to copy at the Louvre. In 1855 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts and became a student of Louis Lamothe (1822-1869), a former pupil of Ingres (q.v.). One year later Degas made the traditional journey to Italy, remaining there for three years. He visited family members in Naples and Florence and attended life classes at the Villa Medici in Rome. A visit to Normandy in 1861 may have introduced him to the racetrack. In Paris he continued to study at the Louvre, where he met Manet (q.v.) in 1862. Apart from his continuous interest in portraiture and history painting, Degas began to pay attention to subjects of modern life. Between 1865 and 1870, he exhibited at the Salon. At the time of the Franco-Prussian War, he enlisted in the artillery, but because of his poor eyesight he served (with Manet) in the infantry. After the war he traveled first to London and, in 1872-73, visited his uncle and brothers who had a cotton business in New Orleans. Degas participated in the first impressionist exhibition of 1874. He continued to exhibit with these artists until 1886 but never completely considered himself a member of the group, preferring to call himself a realist or naturalist. While many of the impressionists painted en plein air, Degas worked with models in his studio and, later in his career, from his imagination. In addition to painting, he experimented often with monotypes, engraving, pastels, sculpture, and photography. He traveled extensively-London, Naples, Spain, Morocco, and Switzerland-but continued to draw his subject matter from modern-day Paris. Other recurring themes would be the female nude and the ballet dancer. After the impressionist exhibition of 1886, Degas no longer participated in group shows. Instead he sold his works to private dealers such as Durand-Ruel and Ambroise Vollard. In the 1890s he began his own art collection, which, besides many works on paper, included paintings by such artists as Ingres, Cézanne (q.v.), Delacroix (q.v.), Gauguin (q.v.), and van Gogh (q.v.). His own art at the time became characterized by broader strokes of paint, charcoal, and pastel and the use of more vibrant colors, partly because of problems with his vision. His failing eyesight and poor health caused him to abandon his pursuit of art during the last years of his life. --- measurements: Overall: 46.4 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm (18 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Signed on base at left: Degas. Inscribed behind right foot: 67/B. translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Mural Scrolls opening date: 1949-12-09T05:00:00 Mural Scrolls. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 9, 1949-January 1, 1950). title: Rouault: Retrospective Exhibition opening date: 1953-01-28T05:00:00 Rouault: Retrospective Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 28-March 15, 1953). title: Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture opening date: 1975-09-24T04:00:00 Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975). title: Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960 opening date: 1987-09-16T04:00:00 Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987). title: Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2006-05-27T00:00:00 Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (Buchholz Gallery, Cologne, Germany) date: footnotes: citations: (Curt Valentin Gallery,New York, NY) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Degas often frequented the Garnier opera house in Paris to observe the dancers during both onstage performances and backstage rehearsals. Paying careful attention to their movements and poses, he produced nearly 1,500 works depicting ballet dancers, including paintings, drawings, and sculptures. digital description: wall description: Degas produced numerous wax sculptures during his lifetime that were cast in bronze shortly after his death. This late work continues his fascination with dancers and the physical sensation of the human body in motion. Marks made by artist's fingers are visible in the bronze surface. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Rewald, John, ed. Degas; Works in Sculpture. New York: Pantheon Books, 1944. page number: Reproduced: pl. LX url: Foote, Helen S. "Dancer Looking at Sole of Her Right Foot." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XXXIV, no. 7, part 1 (September, 1947): 180-181. page number: Mentioned: p. 180-181 url: Cleveland Museum of Art. Works by Edgar Degas. Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 5 to March 9, 1947. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1947. page number: Reproduced: no. 85, pl. LIX url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 334 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n65 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 173 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n197 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 173 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n197 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 213 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n233 Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 101, no. 8 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.2028/1947.2028_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.2028/1947.2028_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1947.2028/1947.2028_full.tif