Little Dancer Aged Fourteen

In 1881, Edgar Degas caused a scandal by unveiling Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (Petite danseuse de quatorze ans), his wax sculpture of a young ballet "rat”. Today, Degas' creation is considered a masterwork of Impressionist sculpture, a piece worthy of detailed study in an international exhibition. It wasn't just the subject matter of Little Dancer that repulsed critics in 1881 at the sixth Impressionist exhibition. The little dancer, Marie van Goethem, was a normal girl standing in a very normal position; it shows her hands behind her back instead of dancing. That ordinariness irritated those who believed that sculpture had to be monumental in subject and design. Degas also had the foolhardiness to use real materials, a muslin tutu, linen bodice, satin ballet shoes, a real hair wig and a colored satin ribbon rather than the customary media of bronze, stone and wood. (Wolgamott) Edgar Degas was born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas in July of 1834 in Paris, France. Compared to most families at this time, he grew up moderately wealthy. Degas began to paint early in life. By the time he graduated from the Lycée in 1853, at age 18, with a baccalaureate in literature, he had transformed a room in his home into an artist's studio. After he completed high school, he applied to be copyist in the Louvre Museum; however his father pressured him into to law school not believing in art as a career. Degas enrolled at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris in November 1853, but put forth very little effort to his studies if any at all. In the early months of 1855, Degas was granted access to the École des Beaux-Arts, a French art school, his mentor whom he studied under was Louis Lamothe, whose professional guidance helped him blossom in the art world. (Benedek) In July 1856, Degas ventured to Italy, he stayed there for three years. In 1858, while living with his family in