Figure study for Young Spartans Exercising
Figure study for Young Spartans Exercising
Artist
Edgar Degas
(French, 1834-1917)
Date1860
DimensionsOverall ((irregular)): 8 7/8 x 13 7/8 in. (225 x 352mm)
Mediumpencil, paper
ClassificationDrawings
Object number
1923.62
Not on View
DescriptionSquared on paper.
Label TextThe crouched figure in this image is the first version of a young man who would appear in Degas’s painting Young Spartans Exercising, now in the National Gallery in London. The most significant change between this drawing and the final painting is the removal of the classically draped cloth from around the youth’s waist. The attention to movement and musculature, a hallmark of Degas’s work most often seen in his paintings of dancers, is on full display in this drawing.Published ReferencesKaina, Philippa, "Illegible bodies: Edgar Degas's 'Young Spartans Exercising'", OBJECT: GRADUATE RESEARCH AND REVIEWS IN THE HISTORY OF ART AND VISUAL CULTURE, No. 9, 2006/07, p. 30-31, fig. 4.Exhibition HistoryMinneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn. 1966.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA. 1966.
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley. 1966.
St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis MO. 1966.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. 1987.
Whitworth Gallery, University of Manchester. 1987.
early 19th century
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