Little Dancer Aged Fourteen

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Little Dancer Aged Fourteen is a sculpture created in 1881 by Edgar Degas. The model of the sculpture is Marie Van Goerhem, a daughter of a Belgian Laundress and tailor. Degas uses Marie Van Goerhem to depict an activity that the fourteen-year-old girl participates which is ballet. The sculpture appears to be bronze and tinted with cotton skirt and a white ribbon in the back of her hair. The little girl’s head is tilted upward with her shoulders pulled back. Degas is a French artist who showcases French dancers as portrayed through the Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.
Art expresses ideas about human experience. The sculpture displays a young child who is fourteen years old in a leotard and tutu. The girl is standing in an upright position as a ballerina with her hands interwind behind her back. The expression of the girl’s face is intriguing. She is calm and composed as she prepares to dance. This artwork also shows many details of the little girl’s face, clothes, and body composition. The little girl has her head lifted as if she is about to do breathing exercises. There is a fabric skirt on the sculpture resembling an elegant ballerina’ attire on the little girl. The dancer also stands with one foot in the back and the other in the front
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The shape of the little dancer derived from a sculpture Degas observed in an exhibit. Originally many people thought the original artwork was “ugly’ but Degas transformed the original artwork to what is now known as the Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Degas performed this transformation in order to appeal more to the audience. This artwork is located in the Baltimore Museum of Art where it is surrounded by paintings and smaller sculptures. As one enters the room the sculpture grabs their attention since it is the only large sculpture standing in the center of the room. This allows the sculpture to stand out among the other artworks in the

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