Three Studies of a Dancer in Fourth Position

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Prints and Drawings

1879/80

Edgar Degas
French, 1834-1917

Made in preparation for the sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, this remarkable drawing depicts the model Marie van Goethem from three different perspectives: left profile, right profile, and facing the viewer. Edgar Degas wanted to understand the figure in the round, in two dimensions, before he approached the sculpture in three dimensions.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas
Title: Three Studies of a Dancer in Fourth Position
Place: France (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1879–1880
Medium: Charcoal and pastel with stumping, and touches of brush and black wash, on grayish-tan laid paper with blue fibers, laid down on gray wove paper
Inscriptions: Signed recto, lower left, in black pastel: "Degas"
Dimensions: 48 × 61.6 cm (18 15/16 × 24 5/16 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Adele R. Levy
Reference Number: 1962.703
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/14970/manifest.json

Roger Marx, 1897, pp. 321 and 323 (ill.).
G. Bazin, L’Amour de l’Art (July 1931), p. 294 (ill.).
Georges Grappe, Degas (1936), p. 35 (ill.).
Camille Mauclair, Degas (Paris, 1937), p. 167, no. 150 (ill.).
Ernst Rouart, Le Point (February 1937), p. 17 (ill.).
John Rewald, Degas: Works in Sculpture, A Complete Catalogue (New York, 1944), pp. 21, and 62 (ill.).
Paul A. Lemoisne, Degas et son Oeuvre, 1 (Paris, 1946), pp. 330-331, no. 586 (ill.).
Lillian Browse, Degas Dancers (Boston, 1949), p. 368, no. 91 (ill.).
Harold Joachim and Sandra Haller Olsen, French Drawings and Sketchbooks of the Nineteenth Century 2 (Chicago, 1979), p. 40, no. 2F2.
George T. M. Shackelford, Degas, the dancers (Washington D. C., 1984), pp. 136, no. 20
Richard Brettell, French Impressionists (Chicago, 1987), pp. 52-53, and 117 (ill.).
Galeries Nationale du Grand Palais, Degas (Paris 1988), pp. 347-348, no. 224.
The Chicago Tribune (August 12, 1990), section 13, p. 15 (ill.).
Jean Sutherland Boggs, Degas (Chicago, 1996), pp. 45, 43 (ill. detail), 91 (ill.), and 109, pl. 20.
Writing and Grammar: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes (2001).
Les Cahiers Ateliers-Degas (Fall 1996).
Maryann Cocca-Leffler, True Kelly, and Joan Holub, Edgar Degas: Paintings That Dance (New York, 2001).
American Federation of Art, Edgar Degas: The Painter of Dancers (2002).

New York, Museum of Modern Art, “The Mrs. Adele R. Levy Collection: A Memorial Exhibition,” June 9-July 16, 1961, p. 14 (ill.).
Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, “Degas,” August 13-September 30, 1979, cat. 74 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, “Degas in The Art Institute of Chicago,” July 19-September 23, 1984, pp. 96-97, cat. 42 (ill.), by Richard Brettell and Suzanne Folds McCullagh.
Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, “Degas: The Dancers,” November 22, 1984-March 10, 1985, pp. 71 and 136, cat. 20 (ill.), cat. by Ted Shackelford.
Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, “Degas,” February 9-May 16, 1988, cat. 224; also traveled to Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada June 16-August 28, 1988; and New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 27, 1988-January 8, 1989.
The Art Institute of Chicago, September, 1996-January, 1997.
Omaha, Neb., Joslyn Art Museum, “Degas and the Little Dancer,” February 7-May 3, 1998, cat. 14, by Richard Kendall; also traveled to Williamstown, Mass., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, May 30-September 8, 1998; and the Baltimore Museum of Art, October 4, 1998-January 3, 1999.
London, Royal Academy of Arts, “Degas and the Ballet, Picturing Movement”, September 17 - December 11, 2011, pp. 78-79,82-23, cat. 23, cat. by Richard Kendall and Jill Devonyar.
The Art Institute of Chicago, “Degas: At the Track, On the Stage”, July 1, 2015-February 26, 2016, no cat.

Roger Marx (died 1913), Paris [Paris 1988]; sold, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, May 11-12, 1914, Marx sale, lot 124, to Durand-Ruel, Paris, for 10,070 francs [Paris 1988]; sold to Trewes [Durand-Ruel archives]. Adele Rosenwald Levy (died 1960), New York; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1962.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Currently Off View

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

Explore Further

Suggested Terms

See all hours

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.