Degas "Dancer in the Role of Harlequin" Sculpture

This splendid reproduction celebrates a direct lineage to the work of Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917). It was carefully made from a 1920 bronze, which itself was cast from an original figure modeled about 1878 by Degas's own hand. This model was among 150 small-scale sculptures of wax, clay, and plastiline found in the artist's studio after his death.

Degas created these figures as a private means of exploring subjects that fascinated him—dancers, bathers, racehorses—while investigating the movement of the body, as seen in this figure.