Dancer Putting on Her Stocking (Third State)
Original title: Dancer Putting on Her Stocking (Third State)
kurzbeschreibung
Edgar Degas modeled this bronze sculpture, titled Dancer Adjusting Her Stocking (Third State), before 1910; it was cast in 1920. It shows a seated woman, nude, lifting her right leg and touching her foot with both hands—an everyday action caught in a quiet moment.
Description
A seated female figure has raised her right leg; her left hand supports it, while her right hand grasps the foot. Leaning slightly forward, her gaze lowered, she rests on a flat, irregularly shaped slab that resembles a natural ground. The shiny surface reveals the oxidation and patina typical of bronze. Light falling from the front deepens the dark brown and brings out contours and structures.
Context
In his late work, around 1910, Degas devoted himself increasingly to the motif of the dancer. This model originated in that phase; during the artist's lifetime, however, it remained in wax. Only in 1920, after his death, was it cast in bronze. The series of dancer sculptures grew out of Degas's sustained interest in movement sequences and unobtrusive actions that he observed in the studio.
Impact
Poised between movement and stillness, the pose unfolds an intimate and at the same time lively presence. The shiny bronze with its patina lends the figure a physical immediacy that draws the viewer into the private event.
Technique
Executed in the lost-wax casting method, the bronze cast preserves the finest details of the surface. The irregular base plate and the shiny patina are characteristic of this type of bronze treatment, through which Degas's original wax models were transferred into a durable material.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)