First Arabesque Penchée 1887 - 1920

This bronze sculpture of a dancer was made by Edgar Degas, who died in 1917. Just imagine him, squinting, working this bronze. It must have felt so different to working on canvas. You can see the force of his hands, the way he shaped and modelled the surface. The texture and form are as important as the graceful pose of the dancer. She's poised mid-arabesque, one leg extended behind, arms reaching forward as if to touch the air. I imagine Degas watching dancers rehearse, trying to capture their fleeting movements. Maybe he saw something of himself in their discipline, that endless repetition and adjustment. The colour is almost black, and the shadow and light create this sense of movement and energy. The overall effect is one of poise and tension, a moment of balance captured in bronze. Artists are always looking at each other's work across time. I wonder who Degas was looking at? And who is looking at Degas now? There are echoes of his work in contemporary sculpture, a continuing conversation across time and space.