Ballet Dancer Adjusting her Costume

1872 or 1873

Edgar Degas French, 1834-1917

Not On View

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Although significant in its own right as a masterful work of art, it is not inappropriate to think of this drawing as a reference tool for Degas. Degas's working method was complex and frequently unfathomable. In his studio he maintained a stock of hundreds of sketches and studies. When planning compositions, it was not unusual for Degas to combine newly composed studies with earlier ones, such as this dancer who appears In several of Degas's paintings.

Title Ballet Dancer Adjusting her Costume

Artwork Date 1872 or 1873

Artist Edgar Degas

Life Dates 1834-1917

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Graphite pencil heightened with white on pink paper

Dimensions Sheet: 16 9/16 × 10 5/8 inches (42.1 × 27 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Bequest of John S. Newberry

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 65.145

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, verso of the primary sheet, lower right: P[h or b] 659/29[illegible]93. [Drawing is fully lined on a white wove mount but when exposed to strong light source, there is a numeric fraction inscribed in a European hand visible on the verso]

Marks Stamp, in red ink, lower right: Degas

Provenance

until 1918, Edgar Degas sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, December, 1918, no. 332 (Paris, France)

1932, Jules Strauss, sale 1932, no. 9 (Paris, France)

Paul Rosenberg (New York, New York, USA)

1944-1965, John S. Newberry (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA) [purchased from Rosenberg]

1965-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Galerie Georges Petit.Catalogue des tableaux, pastels et dessins par Edgar Degas... Paris, 1919, second sale, no. 332.

Browse, Lillian. Degas Dancers. London, 1949, p. 342, no. 19 (ill.).

Cummings, Frederick J. and Charles H. Elam, eds. The Detroit Institute of Arts Handbook. Detroit, 1971, p. 199.

Reff, Theodore. "Works by Degas in the Detroit Institute of Arts." Bulletin of the DIA, 53, 1 (1974): p. 13 (ill.).

"Family Art Game." DIA Advertising Supplement, Detroit Free Press (June 4, 1978): p. 19 (ill.).

Selected Works from the Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1979, p. 264, no. 215.

Shackelford, G.T.M. Degas: The Dancers. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1984, p. 55 (fig. 2.9).

100 Masterworks From The Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 164-165 (ill.).

A Visitor's Guide,The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 244.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Edgar Degas, Ballet Dancer Adjusting her Costume, 1872 or 1873, graphite pencil heightened with white on pink paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of John S. Newberry, 65.145.