Edgar Degas

Estate of the artist, Paris (and sold: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Atelier Edgar Degas, 2ème Vente, December 11-13, 1918, lot 161)
Maurice Exsteens, Paris 
Arthur Murray Foundation, New York
Galerie Kornfeld und Klipstein, Bern
Private Collection, United States
Acquired from the above in 1995

Paris, Musée de l'Orangerie, Degas, 1937, no. 130
Cincinnati, Cincinnati Art Museum, Manet to Toulouse-Lautrec: French Impressionist to Post-Impressionist Prints & Drawings, 1994-95

Georges Rivière, M. Degas, Bourgeois de Paris, Paris, 1938, illustrated p. 89
Marie-Louise Bataille, "Zeichnungen aus dem Nachlass von Degas," in Kunst und Kunstler, Berlin, no. 28, July 1930, illustrated p. 28
Paul-André Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, vol. II, Paris, 1964, no. 611, illustrated p. 347

Executed on cream laid paper, not laid down and t-hinged to the mount at the upper corners. The sheet is slightly time stained and there is some mount staining to the extreme edges, not visible when framed. The upper edge is deckled and the right edge is slightly uneven. There are some spots of minor paper loss in places to each extreme edge. There are two repaired tears to the left and center of the upper edge, with a spot of associated paper loss on each, and a minor vertical repaired tear to the upper right corner. Some spots of foxing away form the image. Otherwise this work is in overall good condition.
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.

Danseuse debout is a stunning interpretation of a theme that would come to dominate Degas’ career. Executed circa 1880, five years after the Garnier Opéra house opened its doors to the public (see fig. 1), Danseuse debout evidences the artist’s growing interest in depicting ballet dancers in an informal setting, distanced from the stage and the spotlight. In the ballet, Degas found his ideal subject, one that not only offered a complex and sophisticated array of movements but also accorded with his commitment to depicting modern life and spectacle. Perhaps in response to Charles Baudelaire’s challenge to artists by defining "modernity" in art and suggesting to “shift from art based on traditional themes to one that took its subjects from contemporary life and expressed the 'ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent' qualities of the modern age” (Jill De Vonyar & Richard Kendall, Degas and the Ballet (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Art, London, 2011, p. 71).

In Danseuse debout, Degas transports the viewer into a rarefied scene, away from the pretense of a staged performance. No other painter of his time was able to present this exclusive atmosphere so compellingly, or to capture the often overlooked beauty of its informality. Throughout his career, Degas repeatedly experimented with rendering the form of the dancer in various poses. The present composition thematically relates to a number of major works from this period, particularly the pastel Danseuse assise se Massant la cheville gauche, circa 1877-79 (see fig. 2). The contemporary critic Jules Claretie wrote, "He knows and depicts the backstage world of the theater like no-one else, the dance foyers, the essential appeal of the Opéra rats in their bouffant skirts" (quoted in Jill De Vonyar & Richard Kendall, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), Detroit Institute of Arts & Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, p. 63).