Little Dancer

Picture taken by me at the Louvre

Edgar Degas’s “La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans”, or “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years”, was sculpted in 1881 and was originally made out of wax and dressed in silk, tulle, had a wig of hair and a satin ribbon (Wikipedia). This was his first sculpture, he usually painted the ballerinas, and I believe he wanted to capture a dancers pose in 3D. Degas was the first to make a sculpture of this sort. It was criticized by many at the Impressionist Exhibition; they said it was “ugly, [and] that it looked like a museum specimen, in part because Degas exhibited it inside a case” (National Gallery of Art). Although people were shocked by the piece, they But “were also moved by the work's representation of the pain and stress of ballet training endured by a barely adolescent girl”, which is what the piece is truly about (Tate). The sculpture was later cast in bronze and 30 casts of the original were made and reside in different museums (Tate). The bronze version still features a tulle or cotton tutu and a silk ribbon in her hair.

I have loved Degas since I was a little girl. I took ballet for ten years and we studied Degas a few times in my art classes. My ballet teacher once took us to see a replica of the Little Dancer when I was about eight and I never forgot that. I was even more excited, though, when I got to see one of the original castings at the Louvre in Paris two summers ago. To this day I’ve still never seen anything like it. It’s so rare even today to see a sculpture of bronze with a real skirt and a ribbon around her bronze braid. I feel so connected to this piece and I find it interesting that I knew this piece was special even when I was young.

Taking a chance and standing out is what really makes this piece art to me. Not only does it beautifully depict the pose of a young, struggling ballerina, it seems like it’s own genre of art because it was done so originally. The piece is fresh, while still seeming conventional, which I think is hard to find in art. It seems like people want to either be totally out there, or completely conventional. I like how this piece has both elements. I would consider this piece to be Mimetic because Degas is trying to replicate a real dancer’s pose, along with the real clothes, plus this was originally sculpted in wax and colored to look real. I would also says it is Emotionalist, though, because the fact that it is called “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” is clearly trying to get a response about the fact that she is young and training vigorously. People may sympathize with the dancer because of this.

Works Cited
La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans. 6 June 2009. 18 November 2009 .
National Gallery of Art. 2009. 18 November 2009 .
Tate. 2004. 18 November 2009 .