Sculptures

Degas Degas Sculptures

Edited by Joseph S. Czestochowski and Anne Pingeot

C Renoir to be the greatestliving sculptor, Edgar Degas exhibited

only one statue during his lifetime—the incom-parable Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen. The workmet a mixed reception, labeled “vulgar” by theconservative and “quintessentially modern” bythe avant-garde. Following the artist’s death in, about eighty more works were rescuedfrom his studio and Degas’s heirs contracted withthe Hébrard foundry in Paris to cast these instrictly limited editions. Over the years, thesecasts have become prized pieces for collectors,acquired by the world’s finest museums, and thesubject of numerous publications and exhibitionsin the United States and abroad.

Nonetheless, Degas’s work has long beensurrounded by contradiction and confusion andeven deliberately shrouded in mystery. The con-tract was repudiated and the editions neither aslimited nor as well documented as we were givento understand. Much of the controversy is theprovince of art historians, but their investigationsand conclusions make for fascinating reading.

Documenting one of only four complete,“vintage” sets of the bronzes, this lavishly illus-trated catalogue presents for the first time stun-ning color images of the sculptures together withthe archival photographs taken by Gautier of theoriginal models found in Degas’s studio in –8, and the historic photographs taken fifty yearsago by the well-known Swiss art photographerLeonard von Matt.

The essays offer the general reader anexploration of Degas and his sculpture. Includedare an interview with Degas himself, introduc-tions to mid-century exhibitions, and reflectionsof contemporary thinking on the artist, his moti-vations, and the complex casting history of theseworks. The appendixes cover the results of exten-sive recent research into newly available archives,some previously published only in French.

This catalogue accompanies an exhibition—organized by International Arts—of the completeset of Degas’s bronzes from the collection of theMuseu de Arte de São Paulo in Brazil.

. is an American arthistorian, past museum director, and author ofseveral monographs and critical catalogues. Hisinterest in Edgar Degas developed from studies,in the s, with Muriel B. Christison, organizerof the groundbreaking exhibition of Degas’ssculpture at the Virginia Museum of Art in .Currently affiliated with an international consult-ing firm and several foundations, he works inMemphis and New York.

, then in the sculpture departmentat the Musée du Louvre, was instrumental in set-ting up the Musée d’Orsay from its inception and is currently the Conservator General at thed’Orsay. She has organized several importantsculpture exhibitions for the museum and writtenand/or edited numerous publications, including,in , the seminal catalogue Degas, Sculptures.

Contributors include , ObjectsConservator, The National Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C.; , Director ofConservation, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; , Senior Curator, Norton SimonMuseum, Pasadena; , ConsultingCurator, The Royal Academy, London; , Conservator General and Director ofCultural Services, Opéra national de Paris; , Director Emeritus, Museu Arte de SãoPaulo, Brazil; , Retired direc-tor, Ackland Art Museum, University of NorthCarolina in Chapel Hill; ,Professor of Art History, Columbia University,New York; and , Head ofObjects Conservation, The National Gallery ofArt, Washington, D.C.

. is the late Director Emeritus,The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The catalogue raisonné of the bronzes, publishedby Pingeot in , has been expanded dramati-cally as a result of meticulous and wide-rangingresearch into the provenance of the sculptures. Ofespecial interest to scholars and connoisseurs willbe the appendixes, which include the Durand-Rueland Vollard inventory of sculptures in Degas’s stu-dio ‒, the Hébrard Foundry Edition con-tract of , the distribution of Degas’s sculpturesby the foundry before , a chronology of sculp-tures, selected exhibition records, concordance(Hébrard/Rewald/Pingeot), and index of titles.

New photography principally by Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini,Geneva, courtesy of the Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny

Archival photography by Leonard von Matt, courtesy ofGemeinnützige Stiftung Leonard von Matt

Published by The Torch Press and International Arts, interarts@ parkers.comFront and back covers: Edgar Degas, Little Dancer, AgedFourteen, cat. . Photo: Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini, Geneva

Spine: Edgar Degas, Rearing Horse, cat. . Photo: Pierre-AlainFerrazzini, Geneva

Jacket design by Gilbert Design Associates, Providence, RhodeIsland

Printed in Milan

DegasSculptures

|

DegasSculptures

Joseph S. Czestochowski and Anne Pingeot

Essays by

Paul Mellon in with Degas’soriginal wax model of Dancer,Fourth Position Front (RF )donated to the Louvre .Paris, Musée d’Orsay Photo JeanPaul Pinon

Foreword

I , five years before I became affiliated with ourNational Gallery of Art in Washington, my good friendand later museum chairman and principal donor, PaulMellon, was captivated by an exhibition in Richmondat the state museum of his adopted and much-lovedhome state of Virginia. The exhibition was organizedby the innovative museum educator Muriel B. Christisonat the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and consisted ofa series of wax and mixed-media sculptures, togetherwith small bronzes, by one of the century’s most im-portant artists—who was also a personal favorite ofPaul Mellon’s—Edgar Degas. Then recently discov-ered in the Paris basement of the Hébrard Foundry,after having been presumed lost for almost forty years,these sculptures had just been exhibited in New York atthe M. Knoedler & Co. gallery. In Richmond’s VirginiaMuseum of Fine Arts, works were displayed for thefirst time, the original wax and mixed-media sculpturesjuxtaposed with the same subjects in bronze. This Virginia exhibition was the first such attempt to explorethe intriguing differences.

The only other time this juxtaposition has oc-curred was in the National Gallery’s Degas at the Racesexhibition shortly before Mr. Mellon’s death. That wasmade possible by his having given his collection ofwaxes and bronzes to the gallery. But until the very endof his life, he cherished the waxes so much that heinsisted on keeping them at his farm at Oak Spring.Many are the times that I tried to borrow some for themuseum, but he felt that they were too delicate, andwould move again only once more, to their eventualplace in the National Gallery of Art.

Perhaps in addition to the aesthetic appeal of thesesculptures, Paul Mellon was drawn by their educationalvalue. These waxes were after all the originals, the ob-jects that bore the artist’s immediate touch, and yet thebronzes were also very beautiful, if not more so. Evenin the late s, Degas’s heirs could not bear the thoughtof destroying the wax models by traditional bronze-casting methods, and succeeded in finding a way topreserve these singular works. So taken was he by themthat Paul Mellon bought the whole collection en bloc.

The Mellon purchase became the catalyst forgreatly expanded scholarship about Degas and hissculpture. Public perception of Degas as a sculptor washeightened and deepened by knowledge of the bronzecasts copied from Paul Mellon’s original models. Withthis renewed critical attention we are also learning moreabout the very mysterious history of these sculptures.Through Paul Mellon’s intercession, the wax and mixed-media sculptures have been preserved—itself a chal-lenging task—and today are considered among themost innovative works of our century. At the sametime, the serialized casts also attracted widening publicattention by virtue of their appealing subjects or sim-ply the cachet of the name Degas; but the process wasvery slow, and limited to a slowly expanding public.Today only four complete sets of the bronzes exist—in museums in Paris, New York, Copenhagen, and SãoPaulo. The São Paulo set exhibited in the s is theset available to us today.

The current exhibition will further our knowledgeby bringing together in this catalogue the work of sev-eral distinguished writers. I am delighted that this show,realized through the brilliant entrepreneurship of JosephS. Czestochowski, will offer many, in several cities, anopportunity to come to know and enjoy these wonder-ful images, and perhaps to love them as I do.

J. C BDirector Emeritus, National Gallery of Art

Edgar Degas, Dancer,Fourth Position Front, on LeftLeg, brown wax, Weight:. kg; Musée d’Orsay,Paris, gift of Mr. and Mrs.Paul Mellon, , RF ,photograph J. Schormans

.

Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen or Ballet Dancer, Dressed

. Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen orBallet Dancer, DressedAlternate Title: Petite danseuse de quatorze ans References: Hébrard ; Pingeot ; Rewald

Editioned Cast: � . � . cm; . kg

Modèle Cast: . cm; NS, Pasadena, purchase

Model Original: yellow wax, hair, ribbon,linen bodice, satin shoes, muslin tutu, woodbase; . � . � . cm; NGA, Mr. andMrs. Paul Mellon, bequest, ..

Model Date: Millard –; NGA –

Inscriptions: Degas: //. .

Editions: casts known and located (cast– or later)

Foundry: Hébrard Foundry, Paris; cast byAlbino Palazzolo (–)

Public Census Edition Casts A. MMA, bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer,

.. (Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, NewYork, Oct. )

B. (Halvorsen) New York, Durand-Ruel ;Mr. and Mrs. William Goetz; New York,Christie ’s, Nov. :; New York,Sotheby’s, Nov. :

C. FOG, bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop,. (M. Clark, New York, )Stephen C. Clark; Scott and Fowles;Grenville L. Winthrop

D. CLK, bequest of Robert Sterling Clark. (M. Clark, Paris)

E. (M. Blumenthal, Paris, Oct. ) NewYork, Dewitt McLaughlin-Terhune; WalterP. Chrysler, Jr. ; London, Artemis FineArt; New York, M. Knoedler & Co. ;Nathan and Marion Smooke; New York,Phillips, Nov. :

F. DRM (Flechtheim, Dresden Museum, Oct. ) Dresden, Galerie Flechtheim,October :

G. PMA, The Henry P. McIlhenny Collectionin memory of Frances P. McIlhenney,.. (Roger Faure, Mar. ) AndréSchoeller; Henry P. McIlhenny

H. (Charles J. Liebman, New York, Aug.) New York, Parke-Bernet, Dec.:; New York, M. Knoedler & Co.;Mrs. Charles S. Payson; New York,Wildenstein & Co.; New York, PrivateCollection

I. () Paris, Hébrard Collection; Paris,Francis Pecresse; France, Private Collec-tion

J. (Mrs. James Watson Webb, New York, Apr. ) Mr. and Mrs. James WatsonWebb ; SMV sold New York, Sotheby’s, Nov. :; Private Collection

K. Unlocated

L. Unlocated

M. SLAM, gift of Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg, inv. . (); Paris, Henry Lartigue; New York, M. Knoedler & Co.

N. Unlocated

O. Unlocated

P. MO, RF () OR :

Q. Unlocated

R. Unlocated

S. NCG (Galerie, s) CM :; Paris,Mme. Nelly Hébrard ; Copenhagen,Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek :; Stock-holm, Galerie Blanche :; Oslo,Nasjonalgalleriet :

T. Unlocated

(s) Émile Peyonat, Saône-et-Loire; Geneva, Claude Glassey;London, Peter Wilson ; privatecollection, London, Sotheby’s, June:; Private Collection

() Paris, Mme. Nelly Hébrard;Paris, Marcel Bernheim Gallery ;New York, Marlborough-GersonGalleries ; Pasadena, NortonSimon, New York, Sotheby’s May:; Belle and Jack Linsky; BelleLinsky; New York, Sotheby’s, May:; Private Collection

. VM, purchase .. () MlleJeanne Fevre; New York, JacquesSeligmann & Co., CV :, CV:; CMA :; CV :

Plaster JAM, gift of M. Knoedler & Co. (?) Paris, De Faucemberge ;M. Knoedler & Co.

Plaster NGA, gift of Mr. and Mrs. PaulMellon, .. (?) (. � . � . cm) M. Knoedler& Co.; John Rewald ; Mr. andMrs. Paul Mellon

Unlocated

Unlettered: () Paul Rosenberg; Paine family;Fairhaven, Elizabeth Paine; New York,Private Collection

(s) Marie Harriman Gallery;Averill Harriman; Pamela ChurchillHarriman ; New York,Wilden-stein & Co.; Japan, Private Collection

MFAB, purchase () MarieHarriman Gallery

SAIN () London, RobertSainsbury

BMA, purchase . () Paris,Mlle Jeanne Fevre; Paris, André Weil;M. Knoedler & Co.

BOY, purchase () Paris, AndréWeil () Los Angeles, Edward G.Robinson; New York, New York, M.Knoedler & Co. ; London, PrivateCollection

MASP (cast leaves France )London :; Gianadda :–; Dayton :; Marques :

TG, purchase () Paris, GalerieMax Kaganovitch; KB :; Paris,Puvis de Chavannes; London, Marl-borough Fine Art

BUH () London, MarlboroughFine Art () Paris, César de Hauke,M. Knoedler & Co. , private col-lection; New York, Acquavella Gallery; Lausanne, Basil P. and EliseGoulandris

Unidentified Casts: Modèle (recorded inHébrard Archives before Madame Havemeyer); Rome ; Paris, Petit :;Prague :; London, Abdy :