Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917), Spanish Dance

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917) Spanish Dance Conceived c. 1885, cast c. 1940s Stamped 'Degas' twice Stamped with the foundry mark 'A.A. Hebrard, Paris' and numbered '8 | HER D' to the base Bronze   Although sculpture was an integral part of Degas’ artistic process, none of his many wax figures were cast in bronze until after his death in 1917. Durand-Ruel reports finding up to one hundred and fifty wax models in his studio in various states of disrepair, of which seventy-three were in a fit enough state to be moved to the founder Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard’s studio, with a contract drawn up between Hébrard and Degas’ heirs that they would be cast in bronze after the First World War ended.   The first casting began in 1919, resulting in an exhibition of Degas’ complete sculptural works in bronze in 1922, to rapturous approval. Hébrard entrusted the foundry to his daughter Nelly in 1932, dying in 1937, and towards the end of the 1940s she purchased the remaining rights of reproduction from Degas’ heirs. This casting most likely relates to the late 1940s, when Nelly Hébrard had taken over the foundry. In 1955 the original wax statuettes were purchased en masse by American collector Paul Mellon, of which four were immediately donated to the Louvre, a fifth to the Musée d’Orsay and the bulk of the remainder to the National Gallery of Art, Washington.   It is worth noting that of the many sculptures Degas made over his lifetime, only three were cast in anything more permanent than wax during his lifetime. In c. 1900 Spanish Dance was cast in plaster, along with Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her Right Foot and Woman Rubbing Her Back with a Sponge, Torso. The plaster cast of Spanish Dance is still extant, although it is in a private collection and its whereabouts are unknown. Provenance: Manhattan Galleries, New York; John Mitchell & Son (by 1980); Mr Ronald Betso; Property of a nobleman  Literature: J. Rewald, Degas: Works in Sculpture, A Complete Catalogue, New York 1944, no. LXVI, p.130 (another cast illus.); L. Browse, Degas Dancers, London 1949, no.154, p.388 (another cast illus.); J. Rewald and L. Von Matt, Degas Sculpture: The Complete Works, Zurich 1957, no. XLVII, p.46 (another cast illus.); P. Cabanne, Edgar Degas, Paris 1959, p.61 (another cast illus.); F. Russoli and F. Minervino, L'opera completa di Degas, Milan 1970, no.S16, p.141 (another cast illus.); C. W. Millard, The Sculpture of Edgar Degas, Princeton 1976, no.69 (another cast illus.); J. and M. Guillaud, Degas: Form and Space, Paris 1984, no.180 (another cast listed and illus.); R. Gordon and A. Forge, Degas, New York 1988, pp.209 and 278 (another cast listed and illus.); J. Rewald, Degas's Complete Sculpture: Catalogue Raisonné, San Francisco 1990, no.LXVI, pp.170-171 (other casts illus.); A. Pingeot and F. Horvat, Degas Sculpture, Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1991, no.16, p.160 (another cast listed and illus.); S. Campbell, Degas: The Sculptures, A Catalogue Raisonné, in Apollo, Vol. CXLII, no.402, August 1995, no.20, pp.20 and 21(another cast illus.); J. S. Czestochowski and A. Pingeot, Degas Sculptures: Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes, Memphis 2002, no.20, pp.160-161 (another cast illus.); S. Campbell, R. Kendall, D. Barbour and S. Sturman, Degas in the Norton Simon Museum, Vol. II, Pasadena 2009, no.51, pp.298-300 (other casts listed and illus.); S. Lindsay, D. Barbour and S. Sturman, Edgar Degas: Sculpture, Washington D.C. 2010, no.20, pp.156-161 and 369 (wax cast listed and illus.) Dimensions: 16.5 in. (H)