AS AN ARTIST,DEGAS IS AN ANARCHIST
-PISSARO
Degas' ballerinas are nude in their merits ,appearances and performances.His nudes are ballerinas.,They dance transparent under the light .they gather together under the light in melancholy.They dance with Degas and with us..Understudy,they move and on stage,they wave their bouquets.In dance class ,they wait or dance barefoot or covered ,adjusting their shoes,resting with seated violinist,rehearsing,extending in their breast and bodies.accompanying their peers and professors.
"HE IS LIKE A WRITER STRIVING TO ATTAIN THE UTMOST PRECISION OF FORM ,DRAFTING AND REDRAFTING ,CANCELING ,ADVANCING BY ENDLESS RECAPITULATION,NEVER ADMITTING THAT HIS WORK HAS REACHED ITS FINAL STAGE."
--PAUL VALERY
1871-1945
POET AND CRITIC
There are not much limits between Degas' nude and ballerinas .Only the distance between Boston and Washington,d.c. With repEtition and variation,as the heart of the matter in Degas' work and his composition. His dancers in rose,blue ,green ,and at times gray or gold and yellow,are within his variations and his statues,as well.
"Posed as the only true dancer could,petit danceuse de qutorze ans/little dancer age fourteen,stands as one of the most celebrated and recognized sculptures of modern times.Created between 1878 and 1881,it is the only sculpture Degas chose to exhibit i his lifetime,perhaps because of the great critical controversy his revolutionary naturalistic approach generated among his peers.The original ,made of wax and fabric,stands 39'' tall and is dressed in a bodice of yellow silk,a skirt of gauze,real ballet slipper and hair of horsechair tied with a satin bow.The bronze and fabric statue from The Baltimore Museum of Art was cast in 1919-1921 and is 38'' tall"
Alice Morawetz Bequest Fund(BMA 1943.1)
In a sunny autumn day ,I leave Degas,this America-French artist with his dancers in Phillis Collection,as well as other museums,to rediscover him in the other exhibition of passion and compassion around the world.Au revoir Degas.
PEOPLE CALL ME THE PAINTER OF DANCERS,BUT I REALLY WISH TO CAPTURE MOVEMENT ISELF."
--EDGAR DEGAS
DANCERS AT THE BARRE
POINT AND COUNTERPOINT
11.20.11
