The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, 1881 by Degas
In the 1880s Edgar Degas adventured onto new and daring paths in his art. Many people were shocked to see this sculpted ballerina. Degas modeled it from red clay. It stands just over three feet tall. He made the hair from a horse’s tail and tied a satin bow in it. Then he dressed her in real dance slippers and a real silk and gauze costume! People felt that a sculpture made from clay, hair, and fabric was a joke. It wasn’t finished. Later the ballerina was cast in bronze. You see the metal copy in this picture. She still wears a fabric costume and bow, but her hair and slippers are now bronze. What can you see from the side that you cannot see from the front view of the ballerina?
If you could touch the metal part of the sculpture, how would it feel?
If you could touch the fabric skirt, how would it be different from the metal?
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