On July 6th, I attended a talk at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena on movement in the work of Edgar Degas. After the talk, I took photographs of the pieces highlighted in the talk and I am sharing them here. This is part one of two posts that I will make on the topic.
Edgar Degas, Horse with Head Lowered & Horse and Jockey & Prancing Horse
While Edgar Degas is best known for his paintings and pastels, he also made many wax sculptures. During his lifetime, only one of his sculptures was exhibited. Later, others were cast into bronze. Norton Simon purchased the master models that are currently on display at the Norton Simon.
Edgar Degas, Horse with Head Lowered & Horse and Jockey & Prancing Horse
Edgar Degas was a frequent visitor to the race track and felt that the motion of horses could not be captured by painting alone. Eadweard Muybridge, a photographer whose works showed some of the earliest documentation of horses in motion with not even a hoof touching the ground, was a great source of inspiration to Degas.
Edgar Degas, Horse Clearing an Obstacle & Horse Galloping on Right Foot
In some of the models of the horses, you may see places where the wire was not covered and areas where the wax was pinched on. It's my opinion that these weren't intended for display and were created purely for the love of art.
Edgar Degas, Dancer Ready to Dance, the Right Foot Forward
Some of his sculptures are more polished and finished than others, like the sculpture of Dancer Ready to Dance. However, they all have a sense of movement, implied or inherent to the piece.
Edgar Degas, Dancers in Pink
When Degas created Dancers in Pink, he had been working in pastels for twenty years. They are caught in a moment of motion on the stage. Pierre-Auguste Renoir included this piece in the background of a portrait of the owner's daughters.
Edgar Degas, Dancer Adjusting Her Shoulder Strap & Arabesque Over the Right Leg, Left Arm in Line & Arabesque Over the Right Leg, Right Hand Near the Ground
The Arabesque sculptures and Dancer Adjusting Her Shoulder Strap sculptures captured moments in time. His sculptures tended to be small, but they had a huge impact. Looking at them, I feel like I could almost be there in that moment.
This concludes part one of my two part series inspired by the talk I attended, I hope you enjoyed it!
Also, please stop by and comment here to enter to win a free print of my art!
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