Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was one of the first artists collected by the American industrialist, philanthropist, and art collector Norton Simon (1907–1993). Over the course of nearly three decades of art acquisition, Simon purchased more than a hundred works by Degas, including paintings, bronzes, and pastels. This comprehensive and beautiful collections catalogue of the artworks by Degas now housed in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, offers not only a fascinating insight into the evolution of Simon's extensive and remarkable collection of pieces by the French impressionist, but also a descriptive and informative account of the current collection prepared by leading Degas scholars.

Degas in the Norton Simon Museum: Nineteenth-Century Art, Volume 2

Arts & Photography

Barbour, Daphne S.

Kendall, Richard

Sturman, Shelley G.

Campbell, Sara

History & Criticism

Norton Simon Distribution

This volume of Facture, a biennial journal that presents the latest conservation research on works of art at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, focuses exclusively on conservation treatment, technical art history, and scientific research related to masterpieces by the beloved French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917). The National Gallery’s extraordinary collection of sculptures, paintings, and works on paper by Degas, including an incomparable group of his wax sculptures—among them his iconic Little Dancer Aged Fourteen—allows the institution to contribute significantly to understanding the artist’s methods and intentions. This volume features discussions of the notion of “finish” in Degas’s paintings, the complex makeup of his wax sculptures, the casting of posthumous bronzes, his innovative use of multiple layers of pastel and fixative in a late work on paper, and even a sonnet that Degas wrote to his “little dancer.”

Facture: Conservation, Science, Art History: Volume 3: Degas

Jones, Kimberly

Hoenigswald, Ann

Luchs, Alison

Berrie, Barbara H.

Delaney, John K.

Dooley, Kathryn A.

Facini, Michelle

Lomax, Suzanne Quillen

Schenck, Kimberly

Palmer, Michael

National Gallery Washington

As an artist, Edgar Degas (1834-1917) defies easy description. Allied with the French impressionists through his commitment to portraying modern life, he also took an independent course, preferring line over color and the visible brushstroke, and working in a studio instead of out-of-doors. He is perhaps best known as a painter, but his most widely known work is a sculpture, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Executed in wax, near life-sized, dressed in a ballerina's tutu, with real ballet slippers and real hair, the sculpture caused a sensation when it was exhibited in 1881. It is the only sculpture Degas ever showed publicly, though more than one hundred--of dancers, horses, and bathers--were found in his studio after he died, all dusty, some fallen apart. For almost forty years after his death, these works were known only through the bronzes his heirs had cast from the originals.Then, in 1955, the waxes themselves appeared on the art market. Thanks to the discernment and generosity of Paul Mellon, the majority are now preserved at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, most on permanent display.
 This groundbreaking volume honors this extraordinary gift by linking art and science. It brings together the insights of a distinguished art historian of nineteenth-century painting and sculpture and the specialized knowledge of National Gallery conservators and scientists who have published pioneering technical studies. Including essays on Degas' life and work, his sculptural technique and materials, and the story of the sculptures after his death, it features art-historical and technical discussions of every work in the collection as well as indispensable concordances and bibliography. The richly illustrated text is intended for both art lover and specialist. Was Degas the sculptor technically inept or unusually inventive? How do we understand his sculpture in light of his paintings, prints, and photographs? These questions and many others are explored with originality and depth, adding immeasurably to our understanding of the artistic avant-garde in the late nineteenth century and to our appreciation of this controversial artist.

Edgar Degas Sculpture (National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogues)

Lindsay, Suzanne Glover

Princeton University Press

In 16th- and 17th-century Spain, sculptors and painters combined their skills to depict, with astonishing realism, the great religious themes. Wooden sculptures of the saints, the Immaculate Conception, or the Passion of Christ were painstakingly carved, gessoed, and intricately painted, even embellished with glass eyes and tears and ivory teeth. Some were shockingly graphic in their depiction of Christ's sufferings; others, beautifully clothed, appeared to bring saints to glorious life. These were objects of divine inspiration to the faithful, whether displayed on altars or processed through the streets on holy days. Featuring new photography, this book reappraises the unique form of Spanish painted wooden sculpture. In addition to examining the sculptures’ religious roles, it also explores the unique creative relationship of sculptor and painter: Velazquez's teacher and father-in-law Francisco Pacheco, for example, often painted the flesh and drapery of wood carvings by the celebrated sculptor Juan Martinez Montañès, and taught a generation of students. The skill of painting these hyper-realistic sculptures was an integral part of an artist's training, enhancing his sensitivity to visual impact and physical presence—evident in paintings of the period.

The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture 1600-1700

BRAY, XAVIER

De Ceballos, Alfonso Rodriguez G.

Ozone, Judy

National Gallery London

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