Edgar Degas

Estate of the artist (sold: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Atelier Edgar Degas, deuxième vente, December 11-13, 1918, lot 22)

Ambroise Vollard, Paris

Zoller, Warsaw

Paul Guillaume, Paris

Mrs. J. Paul Guillaume, Paris (by descent from the above)

Emile Roche, Paris (acquired from the above on June 11, 1937)

Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's New York, November 6, 2007, lot 16)

Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Degas dans les collections Française, 1955, no. 134., illustrated in the catalogue

Paris, Galerie Schmit, Degas, 1975, no. 24

Paul-André Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, vol. III, Paris, 1946, no. 741, illustrated p. 421

Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino, L'opera completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. 880, illustrated p. 126

Very good condition overall. Original canvas which was strengthened on the edges with a thin strip lining. The work is clean and pigment stable. No evidence of retouching visible under UV light.
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.

The present painting of a female figure tying her corset captures the hidden world behind the scenes of the Palais Garnier's spectacular ballet productions.  Degas' sensitivity to the existential condition of this lone dancer is evident, singled out among the many young women of the company anticipating their turn or resting after an exhausting performance. No other artist of his time was able to present this exclusive atmosphere so convincingly or capture the often overlooked beauty of its informality.  As 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 J. De Vonyar and R. Kendall, Degas and the Dance (ex. cat.), The Detroit Institute of Arts & The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, p. 63).

Degas was keenly aware of the humanity of the dancers beyond their glamorous costumes and make-up.   His behind-the-scenes participation allowed him access to details of the dancers' practices that were otherwise unseen.  By the late 1870s and into the 1880s he attended both the performances and rehearsals, and he was well-known among the members of the company.  With such privileged access he could render them with his pastels in the midst of a staged production and in their more intimate moments when their movements were wholly unchoreographed.  As Richard Kendall and Jill De Vonyar state, "no one observed more closely than Degas ... the process by which 'common' Opéra dancers were transformed -- through makeup, stylized costumes, and the distance between the proscenium and the audience -- into 'priestesses of grace.'  Much of his own art was concerned with this metamorphosis: research has increasingly revealed the extent to which his performance images were rooted in firsthand experience of the state rather than in his painterly imagination"  (J. De Vonyar & R. Kendall,Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), The Detroit Institute of Arts & The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2002-03, p. 157).

Emile Roche, the president of the French Economic Counsel, purchased this work in 1939 from Mme. Paul Guillaume.  The picture remained in the Roche family collection for seventy years before it was purchased by the present owner.