2. The Little Dancer Aged FourteenProducer: Mick Gold The cause of a major scandal when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1881, Edgar Degas’ sculpture, Petite
danseuse dequatorze ans (The Little Dancer), is now rightly recognised as one of the most important works produced during the19th Century. By using real fabric
and real hair to complete the groundbreaking work, Degas blurred the distinctionbetween art and life and paved the way for modern sculpture.Made mainly from
wax, the original sculpture now resides in the National Gallery in Washington DC, where recenttests have revealed some surprising evidence that Degas altered his
original plans for the piece.This may help explainwhy Degas missed his deadline for an important Impressionist exhibition. Instead of the promised sculpture, an
emptyglass case was shown, much to the amusement of the critics.When The Little Dancer was finally exhibited, it led toscandal and disgust among the very same
wealthy men who sponsored, and took advantage of, the young dancers atthe ballet. Both a critique of social behaviour and an exploration into the very boundaries
of artistic acceptability, TheLittle Dancer was the only sculpture to be exhibited in Degas’ lifetime.The Private Life Of A Masterpiece also reveals the tragic story of the
young model, 14-year-old Marie van Goetham, onwhom The Little Dancer was based. A young ballet dancer brought up in a poverty-stricken family of prostitutes,
it seems that she, too, fell into disrepute after being sacked from the corps de ballet.
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