La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans

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La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans

Edgar Degas, c. 1881

Bronze, height 97 cm

London, Royal Academy

"La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" ("Little Dancer of Fourteen Years"), c. 1881, is a sculpture by Edgar Degas of a young dance student named Marie van Goethem. The sculpture was first cast in plaster before it was cast in 1922 in bronze.

"Little Dancer of Fourteen Years" is bronze (also slightly tinted) dressed in a cotton skirt with a hair ribbon, sitting on a wooden base.

The relationship between Marie van Goethem and Edgar Degas is one of debate. It was usual for 1880 that the 'Petits Rats' of the Opera of Paris sought protectors from among the wealthy visitors at the backdoor of the opera.

Face of "Little Dancer".

When the "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" was shown in Paris at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881, it received mixed reviews. The majority of critics where shocked by the piece. They thought it was ugly, that it looked like a medical specimen, in part because Degas exhibited it inside a glass case. Some considered the head and face grotesque and primitive.

One copy of "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" is currently owned by the creator and owner of Auto Trader, John Madejski. He stated that he bought the sculpture by accident.

The original wax model was sold for $12,377,500 to François Pinault at Sotheby's in 1999.^{[citation needed]}