International Art Treasures Web Magazine

August 2004  

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The Degas Debate

The July 2004 edition of IATWM contained a feature article on Degas in Bronze, an exhibition currently touring the United States.

In the article IATWM points out that the sculptures were cast after the death of Degas.

In his later years the artist was nearly completely blind and created many wax impressions. 73 in all, that shortly after his death were cast in bronze. There are only four sets of these sculptures that were allowed to be produced by the heirs of the Degas estate.

Should these bronze works be identified as that of Degas while they were cast posthumously?

Our answer is yes!

The bronze are not replicas but taken from molds created by Degas during his lifetime. A painstaking process was undertaken to create the work without destroying the original mold or adding to the mold. Some of the items that Degas added to the sculptures were reflected in the recreations, such as the tulle skirt, and hair on the famous Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen. If these additions were neglected from the finished product they would not be as Degas had envisioned them and created himself. Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen is the only sculpture Degas ever exhibited in his lifetime. It is not believed that he ever did the bronze casting himself, yet that work was credited to him during its exhibition.

The majority of artists rarely do their own bronze casting. Does that mean the actual credit for the creative design is meaningless compared to the factory worker or artisan who cast the work in bronze?

To identify these works as anything other than Degas would be wrong. It would be equally incorrect to identify them as cast during the artist's lifetime. They were not, as the article points out and even notes the actual artist who cast the sculptures in bronze. This artist was not responsible for the creative design so he cannot be credited with it. That belongs to Degas.

Denying the artist responsible for their creation, in our opinion, would be a disservice to their genius.