Valkyrie
Artist: Devon Massey (All)
Pen and Ink
Edgar Degas
Portrait of Henri Michel-Lévy, 1878, Calouste Gulbenkian MuseumEdgar Degas - Harvard Art Museum
Photographic self-portrait by Edgar Degas, the French painter, gelatin silver print. 4 11/16 in. x 6 9/16 in. Harvard Art Museum/Fogg Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Fund for the Acquisition of Photographs. Courtesy of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
The
acrobat Miss La La caused a sensation when she performed at the Cirque
Fernando in Paris. Here she is shown suspended from the rafters of the
circus dome by a rope clenched between her teeth.
Degas sought out such striking modern subjects, concentrating on figures
in arresting poses. In January 1879 he make a series of drawings at the
Cirque Fernando including a pastel study of Miss La La (London, Tate
Gallery), which culminated in this painting. We view the spectacle as
the audience would have done, gazing up at the daring feat taking place
above.