Degas’ Little Dancer, 14 Years Old

Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 3:05PM
Sarah Towle in 19th Century, Edgar Degas, La Petite Danseuse, Marie Van Goethem, Musee d'Orsay, Opera Garnier

On stage at Paris’ Palais Garnier until 13 July 2010:

La Petite danseuse de Degas.

Dancer, choreographer, and Ballet Master of the Paris National Opera, Patrice Bart, brings to life the celebrated statue of Edgar Degas and the model that inspired it, Marie Van Goethem.  The ballet traces the painful destiny of this Opéra ballerina and evokes the flavor of an era: that of late 19^th century France.

Marie was born into a poor family of Belgian origin.  Her father was a tailor, her mother a laundress.  The two moved to Paris in 1861 where Marie was born, one of three sisters.  They lived in a squalid neighborhood in Paris' 9th arrondissement. 

At some point during her early youth Marie’s father died.  Her mother sent her and her sisters to the Paris Opéra to study ballet.  As a “petit rat,” a dance student between the ages of seven and fourteen, Marie could help support the family. 

There were precious few opportunities for women in 19th century France, particularly the poor and destitute.  Becoming a dancer, at the Opéra or one of the new Paris dance halls such as the Moulin Rouge, was one.  Failing this, the greatest thing a poor Paris mother could hope for was that her daughter be “discovered” and “taken care of” by a wealthy patron of the Opéra.  Thus, mothers effectively prostituted their daughters as a means of survival.

Marie was indeed discovered, by the artist Edgar Degas.  He was fascinated by women and the way they moved.  He asked Marie to pose for him when she was fourteen.  Sitting for an artist, Marie could earn an additional 6-1o francs per session.  As Degas was very secretive about his work, we know little today about what actually happened between the artist and his muse. 

He unveiled La petite danseuse de quatorze ans in 1881 at the 6^th Exhibition of Impressionism in Paris.  The critics largely hated it, calling it a medical specimen, grotesque and primitive.  Marie stopped dancing at 17 and was lost to history.  But her image lives on, housed in a glass box and standing proudly at the Musée d'Orsay, one of the most celebrated sculptures of the Impressionist School of art.

For more information about the ballet:

Palais Garnier

pl. Opéra 75002 Paris
08 92 89 90 90

 

Image:

La petite danseuse de quatorze ans, Edgar Degas (1834-1917).  Photographed by Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, November 2006, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.



Article originally appeared on Time Traveler Tours - Interactive iPhone / iPod Touch iTineraries for Youth and Student Educational Travel (http://timetravelertours.squarespace.com/).