Arabesque

After Edgar Degas’s death in 1917, a large group of sculptures were discovered in his studio, most of them modeled in wax. With one exception, the works had never been exhibited during his lifetime and were virtually unknown to his contemporaries. Parisian foundry A. A. Hébrard eventually cast 74 of the figures into bronze, and three of the resulting sculptures in the collection of the Art Institute: Dancer Ready to Dance, Right Foot Forward, Arabesque, and Woman Arranging Her Hair.

In Dancer Ready to Dance, the figure performs the tendu exercise, repeatedly extending and retracting her leg to strengthen certain muscles. Arabesque depicts the final movement of an arabesque penchée, in which the dancer gracefully tilts her body forward while extending one leg up and back. In the sculpture at far right, the woman is probably drying her hair after washing it in separate sections, as was common practice in the 19th century.