Edgar Degas

O'Hana Gallery, London, 1964
Galerie Motte, Geneva, 1965
Arthur Tooth & Sons, Ltd., London,
Ted Ashley, New York, by 1979 (sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 19, 1986, lot 17)
Nathan and Marion Smooke, Los Angeles (acquired at the above sale and sold: Phillip's, de Pury & Luxembourg, New York, November 5, 2001, lot 68)
Acquired at the above sale 

Pierre Borel, Les sculptures inedites de Degas, Geneva, 1949, n.p., original wax model illustrated
John Rewald, Degas: L'oeuvre sculptè de Degas, Zurich, 1957, p. 159, no. LXXIII, illustration of another cast pl. 89
William Tucker, Early Modern Sculpture, Oxford, p. 157, illustration of another cast no. 154
Charles W. Millard, The Sculpture of Edgar Degas, Princeton, 1976, pp. 109-110, illustration of another cast no. 139
John Rewald, Degas' Complete Sculpture: A Catalogue Raisonné, San Francisco, 1990, pp. 184-185, no. LXXIII, illustration of original wax model and another cast
Sara Campbell, "Degas, The Sculptures: A Catalogue Raisonné," Apollo, vol. CXLII, 1995, pp. 37-38, no. 55
Joseph S. Czestochowski and Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures: Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes, Cedar Rapids, 2003, pp. 228-229, no. 55, illustration of another cast

Very good condition. Surface is slightly dirty. Minor patina rubbing to the back of the standing figure's head. Nail-head size nick to the base just below the top left corner.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

For Degas sculpture was a private medium; he never intended his work to be cast in bronze or exhibited publicly. The dealer Ambroise Vollard recalled Degas' modest response when the prospect of casting his work was raised: "It's a tremendous responsibility to leave anything behind in bronze – this medium is for eternity' (Ambroise Vollard, Degas, Paris, 1924, p. 112). Despite the artist's intention to conceal these works from posterity, their fortuitous survival provides a fascinating insight into the problems that occupied the artist in the latter part of his career. Degas' sculptures were created from wax models left in his studio that served a similar function to sketches or drawings, allowing the artist a means of working out his ideas in three dimensional form. It is clear from the 150 statuettes found at the time of his death that he limited himself to a small range of subjects, often producing variations on a theme, each displaying subtle shifts in composition, in the dynamics of movement or of muscular tensions within the body.

The present work, (and all the bather subjects) are made strikingly modern by the juxtaposition between the sensual nature of the subject and the realism of the modeling. Degas' focus is not on the figure's sexual identity but on the physical action of the masseuse, giving a quotidian aspect to this erotically charged subject. As the artist once commented, 'These women of mine are honest, simple folk, unconcerned by any other interests than those involved in their physical condition'. This uncompromising pursuit of realism, coupled with his use of unusual materials, revolutionized the sculptural medium; as Huysmans perceptively commented when La Petite Danseuse was first exhibited, "at the first blow...[Degas has] overthrown the traditions of sculpture, just as he had long ago shaken the conventions of painting" (J. K. Huysmans, 'L'Exposition des Indépendents en 1881' in L'Art Moderne, Paris, 1883, p. 226).

Examples of La Masseuse are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay in Paris, among others.  The plastilene is in the collection of The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon.