DEGAS Edgar (1834-1917)

DEGAS Edgar (1834-1917)

Autograph poem, [The Dancer]| 1 page in-4 (22.2 x 18 cm| a little insulated, with traces of framing).
Rare sonnet by the painter.
[According to Paul Valéry, Degas wrote about twenty sonnets| eight were published in 1914 by Alexandre Gaspard-Michel [and the publisher
Alexis Rouart]: Sonnets by Degas| this one bears number VII of the collection| composed around 1888-1890, it evokes his famous sculpture, La Petite Danseuse]. "She dances as she dies. As if around a reed, a flute where Weber's sad wind plays, the ribbon of her steps twists and knots.
Her body collapses and falls in a bird's-eye gesture. [...]
As always, the beautiful mystery ceases.
She jumps back too much, She jumps like a frog, And I come out angry."
Paul Valéry, Degas, Danse, Dessin (Paris, Gallimard, 1998, p. 147).
PROVENANCE Atelier Degas| René de Gas| Odette de Gas and Roland Nepveu|
Arlette Nepveu-Degas| Christie's Paris sale May 24, 2006, n° 24