埃德加∙德加

Adrien Hébrard, Paris
Private Collection, Paris (by descent from the above; until 1996)
Sale: Guy Le Houelleur, Deauville, 16th August 1996, lot 90
Acquired by the present owner in 1996

(possibly) Paris, Galerie A.A. Hébrard, Exposition des sculptures de Degas, 1921, no. 47
Paris, Jean-François Heim, Tableaux, dessins, sculptures du XVIIe au XIXe siècle, 2013, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

John Rewald, Degas, Works in Sculpture, A Complete Catalogue, New York, 1944, no. VI, illustration of another cast p. 35
John Rewald, Degas's Sculpture, The Complete Works, London, 1957, no. VI, illustration of another cast pls. 3-5
Franco Russoli & Fiorella Minervino, L'opera completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. S41, illustrations of another cast p. 143
Charles W. Millard, The Sculpture of Edgar Degas, Princeton, 1976, no. 60, illustration of the wax
John Rewald, Degas's Complete Sculpture, Catalogue Raisonné, San Francisco, 1990, no. VI, illustration of the wax p. 54; illustration of another cast p. 55
Anne Pingeot & Frank Horvat, Degas Sculptures, Paris, 1991, no. 41, illustrations of another cast pp. 92-93, 172-173
Sara Campbell, 'Degas, The Sculptures, A Catalogue Raisonné', in Apollo, no. 402, vol. CXLII, August 1995, no. 47, illustrations of another cast pp. 2 & 33
Joseph S. Czestochowski & Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures, Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes, Memphis, 2002, no. 47, illustrations of another cast pp. 212-213; the present cast listed p. 213
Suzanne Glover Lindsay, Daphne S. Barbour & Shelley G. Sturman, Edgar Degas Sculpture, Washington, D.C., 2010, no. 13, illustrations of the wax pp. 103, 104 & 361

Rich dark brown patina. This work is in very 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cheval au galop sur le pied droit is the largest and most thrilling of all Degas’ equestrian sculptures. Degas’ two engrossing passions, horseracing and ballet, provided him with a rich and exciting social life and the artistic inspiration for the greatest part of his œuvre. As a member of the prestigious Jockey Club, Degas was a habitué of the racecourses at Deauville and Longchamps, where he could study the beauty of thoroughbred horses at close quarters. The present model shows the horse moving at its fastest pace, a position known as a racing gallop on a right lead. The powerful physiognomy and musculature of the animal are beautifully rendered, and discussing the Cheval au galop sur le pied droit Shelley Sturman writes: ‘Degas took great care in modelling the original wax, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington. He elegantly portrayed the horse’s delicate ears, flaring nostrils, bulging jowls, and parted lips, which translated beautifully into bronze. A crosshatched or chevron pattern simulating a textile imprint or blanket is present on both flanks and across the top. All of these are skilfully captured in the bronze cast, and none of the horse’s energy is lost in translation from wax to bronze’ (S. Sturman, Degas in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, 2009, pp. 262-265).

Degas, famous for his outstanding visual memory, nonetheless saw the advantage of photographs upon which the artist could rely when without a model to hand. The remarkable photographic studies by Eadweard Muybridge taken during the 1880s provided Degas with a unique insight into the mechanics of movement for both sculptures and pastels of equine subjects. Writing on the original wax model Suzanne Glover Lindsay suggests that ‘though linked repeatedly to specific photographs of galloping Thoroughbreds by Muybridge, this wax has affinities with several simultaneously, particularly […] the 1887 studies of “Bouquet” [fig. 1], also on a right lead, with a similar angle to the hind legs, more extended neck, and especially the forward-turned ears’ (S. G. Lindsay in S. G. Lindsay, D. S. Barbour & S. G. Sturman , op. cit., p. 105). The particular pose was also the basis for Le Jockey (The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia), a pastel from the same period as Cheval au galop sur le pied droit, which highlights the role Muybridge’s photographs played in these highly important developments in Degas’ work.