Grand Arabesque, Third Time (First Version)

Degas’s small-scale sculptures of dancers represent a wide spectrum of classical ballet poses, which he modelled in numerous variations. One group of figures, for example, depicts various stages of an arabesque. Degas devoted eight sculptures to this posture alone—one of the most challenging in ballet. He presumably carried out the complex work between 1885 and 1890 under the influence of Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904). The British photographer’s so-called chronophotographs illustrate sequences of movement by means of a series of photographs shot rapidly one after the other. The four bronzes in the exhibition provide insights into the performance of an arabesque from the upright stance to a stage in which the body rests over the right leg in a nearly horizontal position, and finally leans down to form a diagonal (today's sculpture).

P.S. Edgar Degas not only painted and sculpted but also was an art collector! And quite a serious one! Check here which treasures he managed to acquire.