Edgar Degas

Galerie Max Kaganovitch, Paris (acquired by 1949)
The Lefevre Gallery, London
David Keswick, Dumfries, Scotland (acquired from the above in 1952)
Thence by descent

John Rewald, Degas: Works in Sculpture, New York, 1944, no. XXVIII, illustration of another cast p. 81
John Rewald, Degas Sculpture, London, 1957, no. XXVIII, illustrations of the wax model & another cast n.p.
Charles W. Millard, The Sculpture of Edgar Degas, Princeton, 1976, fig. 84, illustration of another cast n.p.
Anne Pingeot & Frank Horvat, Degas Sculptures, Paris, 1991, no. 15, illustration of the wax model & another cast p. 159
Sara Campbell, "Degas. The Sculptures: A Catalogue Raisonné" in Apollo, London, August 1995, no. 33, illustration of another cast p. 27
Joseph S. Czestochowski & Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures, Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes, Memphis, 2002, no. 33, illustrations of another cast pp. 186-87
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts & Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), 2002, illustration of another cast p. 131

This work is in excellent condition. Attractive brown patina with golden highlights. Some light handling wear to the extreme edges. There is a very minor scuff to the dancer's left buttock. There is some surface dust in the deeper crevices, otherwise fine.
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.

Enlivened by the play of light over its irregular surface, the present bronze cast registers the successive layers of wax applied by the artist. Unlike academic sculptures of the period with their smooth lifeless finish, the record of Degas’ touch animates the sculpture and suggests the vitality of the creative act. As he stated, "It was for my own satisfaction that I modeled horses and people in wax, not to abandon painting and drawing, but to give my paintings and drawings more expression, more ardor, and more life" (quoted in Joseph S. Czestochowski & Anne Pingeot, op. cit., p. 14). Degas often began his ballet compositions with dancers posed nude and argued that he needed to model his dancers in three dimensions as "in a drawing alone one only had a silhouette without body, without the effect of mass, without volumes" (quoted in ibid., p. 14). 

As Richard Kendall suggests, Danseuse attachant le cordon de son maillot "represents just such a fleeting moment in three dimensions, an extraordinary spiralling action that catches the human animal at its most supple, arms twisted in one direction and left leg in another" (quoted in Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., p. 128).