Edgar Degas

EDGAR DEGAS (Paris, 1834 - 1917).
"Danseuse looking at the plant of her right foot".
Exemplary in bronze with nuanced brown patina.
Numbered 69 IX/IX.
Stamp of the signature "Degas" on the base.
Stamp "CIRE PERDUE C. VALSUANI" on the base.
Casting made under the control of the artist's family.
Provenance: European private collection
Bibliography: Hébrard 69; Pingeot 34; Rewald 49; Czestochowski 69.
This edition comprises a run marked with the letters A to T and a run numbered in Roman numerals from I/IX to IX/IX.
A notarized copy of the certificate of authenticity from Artco France Éditeur d'Art, dated 2007, will be given to the purchaser.
We thank the Degas Committee for their collaboration; an official certificate of authenticity may be requested at the buyer's expense.
Measurements: 49.9 cm (height).

This sculpture by Edgar Degas, "Ballerina looking at the sole of her right foot", is one of the most intense and modern expressions of his research on movement and the body in tension. Far from the idealized image of the ballet, Degas here fixes a fleeting and demanding instant: the dancer bends over her own body, concentrating on an intimate and technical gesture, alien to any intention of exhibition.

The composition is articulated around a strong dynamic imbalance. The figure rests all her weight on one leg, while the other is raised and the torso leans forward, generating a sensation of suspended movement. This torsion accentuates the three-dimensionality of the work and forces the viewer to surround it, turning the sculpture into a fully spatial experience.

The treatment of the bronze preserves the traces of the original wax modeling: irregular, vibrant surfaces that capture the light in a changing way. The nuanced brown patina reinforces this effect, underlining the almost organic character of the figure. Degas does not seek the polished finish of academic sculpture, but a living material that translates the physical effort and mental concentration of the dancer.

Cast in lost wax by the prestigious C. Valsuani foundry. Valsuani, under the control of the artist's family, this posthumous edition is part of the small print run authorized after his death. Numbered IX/IX, it belongs to the most limited series of the edition, which increases its historical and collector's relevance.

The work summarizes in an exemplary way Degas' contribution to modern sculpture: a radically new look at the body in movement, where the unfinished, the transitory and the everyday become fundamental aesthetic values.