The sculptures you will see in Athens were cast from recently discovered plasters made from the artist’s original waxes during his lifetime and with his consent. This is remarkable since all the other bronzes you can currently see in museums and elsewhere were cast from masters made after the artist’s death. Therefore, the bronzes in this exhibition can be considered the original versions, and all the others the second versions of these sculptures. Thus, for the first time, it will be possible for experts, scholars and the general public to compare the artist’s bronzes in the before and after states, which is almost unparalleled in the history of art.
The exhibition also hosts the drawing of Edgar Degas’ Horses and Riders (1872, pencil on paper) from The George Economou Collection, Athens.
You can buy the special edition catalogue of the exhibition in three languages at the Herakleidon Museum shop. The fascinating essay in this catalog by Mr. Walter Maibaum details the history of this discovery and the differences between the bronze editions. Dr. Gregory Hedberg's revealing essay focuses on Degas' most significant sculpture, The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen. Dr. June Hargrove’s essay discusses the relationship between Edgar Degas’ two and three-dimensional works so that appropriate comparisons can be made.
After Athens, the exhibition will travel around the world.
Edgar Degas (1834–1917), born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar de Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, although he rejected the term and preferred to be called a realist. He was not interested in the outdoors. He worked in his studio, with models or more often from memory. Early in his career, his ambition was to be a historical painter, a calling for which he was well prepared by his rigorous academic training and close study of classical art.
In his early thirties he changed course, and by bringing the traditional methods of a historical painter to bear on contemporary subject matter, he became a classical painter of modern life. A superb draughtsman, he is especially identified with the subject of the dance and over half his works depict dancers. These display his mastery in rendering movement, as do his racecourse subjects and female nudes. His portraits are considered to be among the finest in the history of art.