Marie van Goethem

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Marie Genevieve van Goethem, or Goetham, (June 7, 1865 - ?), model for Edgar Degas' statue, "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years".

1 Poverty stricken
2 Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881
3 Subsequent life
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Poverty stricken

Marie, the daughter of a Belgian laundress and tailor, was born in the 9e arrondissement of Paris as one of three sisters. She was named after her deceased sister who died at the age of eighteen days. The neighbourhood where she was born was in one of the most squalid pockets of Paris with a diverse stew of wealthy and poor, prostitutes and day laborers, brothels and merchants.

At sometime the father of Marie died. The mother of Marie and her sisters moved to a stone apartment building at 'Rue Notre-Dame de Lorette' called 'Place Breda' near the studio of Degas at 'Rue Saint-Georges'. Marie's mother became a laundress; this was a common job for the mother of a ballet dancer. Marie and her sisters became students at the Paris Opera Ballet school and later performed in roles of extras with the company. The young dancers were called 'Petits Rats'. By performing for the Opera she contributed to the income of the family.

Degas came more frequent to the ballet performances at the Paris Opera House. He often sought privacy with one of the prominent figures of the day. Degas created some of the first behind the scenes images of dancers.

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.

By posing for artists Marie and her sisters probably earned up to 6 or 10 francs per sitting. Furthermore, it is suggested that the mother of Marie prostituted her daughters to the regular visitors of the opera.^{[citation needed]}

Edgar Degas was very interested in the way women moved. Although his own relation with women is unknown, all of his important work is about them. Some say his interest in the mechanics of human motion created a psychological barrier between him and his models, in his heart and as is to see in his art.^{[citation needed]}

The youngest sister of Marie and Antoinette, Louise Josephine, as she is called by Richard Kendall, or Charlotte, as she is called by Carolyn Meyer — author of the YA novel Marie, Dancing, which focuses on Marie's adolescence — is known to have worked for the Paris Opera ballet as a teacher. She even suggested that she has taught Yvette Chauviré. This is according to Martine Kahane.

[edit] Sixth Impressionist Exhibition of 1881

Degas remained very secretive about this work. He kept the public waiting for a year. He was to reveal the piece in the Salon in 1880, but instead he displayed the empty glass case. When he finally revealed the work, viewers saw the subject was one of the young opera dancers. They knew what happened behind the scenes at the opera, and they where disgusted that Degas made a sculpture of one of the little dancers and that he made such a fuss about it.

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.

[edit] Subsequent life

Marie's dance career ended at the age of seventeen, a result of missing many dance classes.^[1] No record of Marie's marriage, possible children, or death has been found.