Degas' Sculptures Finally Get Their Due in Roubaix Exhibition

An exhibition at the Musée de la Piscine in Roubaix, running autumn and winter 2010-2011, and its accompanying catalogue published by Éditions Gallimard, finally assess the importance of Degas' overlooked sculptural work. During his lifetime, only the 'Little Dancer of Fourteen Years' was exhibited, provoking outrage akin to Manet's 'Olympia'. Texts by Bruno Gaudichon and Anne Pingeot argue that Degas' sculpture was not a whim; he began modeling clay and wax early. The exhibition and catalogue show that drawings, pastels, prints, paintings, and sculptures share a creative energy, each discipline feeding others. The sculptures of young dancers rival his finest paintings in elegance, grace, and power, and compare to works by Rodin, Matisse, Picasso, Germaine Richier, and César. The catalogue juxtaposes 1918 photographs by Gauthier of fifty-three fragile wax sculptures found in Degas' apartment (horses, female torsos, a woman washing her left leg, seated in an armchair, combing her hair) with the bronzes cast from them.