Tag: degas

Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Edgar Degas

Photo of the Little Dancer statue
Edgar Degas (French, 1834 – 1917), Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, 1878-1881, pigmented beeswax, clay, metal armature, rope, paintbrushes, human hair, silk and linen ribbon, cotton faille bodice, cotton and silk tutu, linen slippers, on wooden base, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1999.80.28

Tired or determined? This is Marie van Goethem, a young ballet student at the Paris Opera. We’ll find out where she came from and the not-so-glamorous life of a ballerina in Paris in the 1880s.  We’ll also find out how Degas broke the rules and managed to freak out the public with this statue!

We’ll also discover how he was the original upcycler, using materials he had on hand to create her! See the photo below.

An Illustration of the materials used in Little Dancer armature.
Diagram of the armature of Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Courtesy of the Object Conservation Department, National Gallery of Art.

At the end of the episode, I let you know which mystery show she plays an important role in!

Ed. note: I’d like to thank the staff of the Object Conservation Department at the Gallery for their help with today’s episode.

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SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas

Episode theme is “Violin Sonata in A major” composed by César Franck. Sonata for Cello and Piano – I. Allegretto ben moderato. Performed by Paul Pitman, Bang-Eun Lee

Degas’s Little Dancer exhibition brochure (PDF)

Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (NGA Highlights Essay)

Degas and His Dancers (Smithsonian Magazine)

Modeling with Clay (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocAc–CQdPw

Little Dancer featured in Endeavour (link expires 6/30/19)

Slow Art Day

08 Skiffs – Caillebotte

Painting of men boating on a river on a summer day by Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848 – 1894), Skiffs, 1877, oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon 1985.64.6

This sunny, warm painting is a welcome relief in this miserable March. Skiffs is one in a series of young men boating by Gustave Caillebotte who was a lesser known Impressionist painter until a beautiful 2015 exhibition at the National Gallery.

We’ll find out about his relationship with his fellow Impressionists, his killer art collection and how he turns up in one of Renoir’s most famous paintings.

Painting of a lively group of young people having lunch in an outdoor space
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1881. Oil on canvas, 51 1/4×69 1/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, Acquired 1923

I’d like to thank the staff at the Phillips Collection for their help with this episode.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

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SHOW NOTES

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas
youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 – V. Happiness by Robert Schumann performed by Donald Betts. https://musopen.org/music/2326-scenes-from-childhood-op-15/

Skiffs information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.66404.html

Introduction to the Exhibition—Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye

Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye, Exhibition Catalog
https://shop.nga.gov/item/645727p/gustave-caillebotte-the-painter-s-eye-exhibition-catalog/1.html

Renoir and Friends: Luncheon of the Boating Party
https://www.amazon.com/Renoir-Friends-Luncheon-Boating-Party/dp/191128200X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520629125&sr=8-1&keywords=renoir+and+friends+phillips

Slow Art Day
http://www.slowartday.com