{"id":1431,"date":"2017-09-24T16:27:01","date_gmt":"2017-09-24T16:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/?p=1431"},"modified":"2017-09-24T16:27:01","modified_gmt":"2017-09-24T16:27:01","slug":"after-degas-burrell-collection-at-the-national-gallery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/2017\/09\/after-degas-burrell-collection-at-the-national-gallery.html","title":{"rendered":"After Degas: Burrell Collection at the National Gallery"},"content":{"rendered":"

A small Degas show, \u201cDrawn in Colour,\u201d at the National Gallery until 7 May, comprises a splendid group of pictures, chiefly on loan from the Burrell Collection, near Glasgow, complemented by some from the National\u2019s own horde. It\u2019s a little difficult to find, as it\u2019s not in the Sainsbury wing, but in the main-floor galleries, and the National Gallery\u2019s\u00a0 disability-challenging signage doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

We think of Edgar Degas (1834-1917) as the disagreeable old man he certainly became, nursing grudges, profoundly conservative \u2013 to the point of hating the new-fangled telephone, anti-Semitic, anti-Dreyfusard, curmudgeonly and even, some say, misogynistic. Picasso relished (perhaps shared) the older artist\u2019s voyeurism. \u00a0But some sympathetic traits emerge from this little show, artistic traits, not praiseworthy traits of character, to be sure. But in the wonderful Burrell pastel of mounted \u201cJockeys in the Rain\u201d (c.1883-36) with the huge expanse of turf at the bottom and left of this strange composition, in the room devoted to ballet dancers, and the wall of nude female bathers, you realise that Degas never painted en plain air<\/em>, could not have drawn the ballet scenes from life, and probably drew and painted the awkwardly bathing women in the studio as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

35.241
Jockeys in the Rain<\/em><\/strong>
Degas, Edgar Hilaire Germain (1834 – 1919, French)
circa 1883-1886
pastel on paper
framed: 760 mm x 920 mm x 107 mm; unframed: 469 mm x 635 mm
Pastel entitled ‘Jockeys Sous La Pluie’, depicting jockeys excercising mounts prior to race, rain falling, by Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas<\/p><\/div>\n

There is one example of a photograph. A gelatin silver print (c.1896) of a woman drying herself after the bath, which is obviously related to the three paintings he did of the woman clumsily twisting around on her towel \u2013 the NG is lucky enough to own the best one (bequeathed, I learned from the catalogue, only in 2006 by the late Simon Sainsbury, who must have had one hell of a collection). Degas worked these up in the studio, as he did most of the paintings that are cropped unusually, such as the \u201cJockeys in the Rain\u201d and \u201cThe Rehearsal\u201d (c.1874). I remember being showed slides of these by John Rewald, in his lectures at the University of Chicago, and being told how the bare floorboards in this last, with the curving staircase partially shown on the left, and the ballerina sliced in half in the right foreground, were as daring as the green turf of the former.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

35.246
The Rehearsal<\/em><\/strong>
Degas, Edgar Hilaire Germain (1834 – 1919, French)
France, Paris, L’Opera (place depicted)
circa 1874
oil on canvas
framed: 778 mm x 1048 mm x 110 mm; unframed: 777 mm x 1047 mm x 110 mm
Painting entitled ‘La Repetition’, depicting a rehearsal scene, by Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas<\/p><\/div>\n

This mode of working, of remembering<\/em> and working up the image in the studio, reminds me of the practice of the late Howard Hodgkin, who painted a great picture called \u201cAfter Degas\u201d (1993) and made a print with the same title in 1990-91, both incorporating striking green-coloured frames; also a painting, \u201cJames Fenton\u2019s Degas\u201d 2000 with a darker green frame; and he returned to the brighter green frame for \u201cTribute\u201d (2001-2002), which his website groups with the others, when you search for \u201cDegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Hodgkin, After Degas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

26 x 30″, 66 x 76cm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oil on wood<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Hodgkin. After Degas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

10 x 12 1\/2″, 25.5 x 32cm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Intaglio print with carborundum from three aluminium plates, printed in two shades of red ochre and two mixes of burnt Sienna, chrome yellow and raw umber, and grey, with hand colouring in veronese green egg tempera. On Aquarelle Larroque moulins de Larroque et Pombie (240 gsm).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was this aspect of Degas, his painting from memory, probably remembering his feelings about the subject or circumstances of the instant pictured, that I believe Howard treasured \u2013 though the use of colour and radical compositions must have been part of his admiration for Degas.\u00a0 The current exhibition has two Degas \u201cRussian Dancers\u201d (both c. 1899). The one belonging to the National Gallery, pastel and charcoal on tracing paper, is the clear inspiration for Howard\u2019s \u201cDegas\u2019 Russian Dancers\u201d (2006-07). Hodgkin thrillingly captures the dramatic forward trust of the dancer\u2019s leg diagonally splitting Degas\u2019 composition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Russian Dancers\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
\nHilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas
\nabout 1899<\/p>\n

Pastel and charcoal on tracing paper, 73 x 59.1 cm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Hodgkin,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Degas\u2019 Russian Dancers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

30 7\/8 x 34 7\/8″, 78.4 x 88.6cm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oil on wood<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Incidentally, there\u2019s speculation about whether Degas\u2019 women bathers are models or even prostitutes, unlike the dancers, who are obviously dancers (though he might have used models later, in the studio, to fill in their features). But note that some of the images, such as the NG\u2019s \u201cCombing the Hair\u201d (c.1896) shows a woman having her long red hair combed by a maid in uniform; and the Burrell\u2019s charcoal and pastel \u201cAfter the Bath\u201d (c.1890-5) shows a maidservant holding a towel for the bather; and that the Burrell\u2019s pastel \u201cPreparation for the Class\u201d (c.1877) shows eight ballerinas, and two black-clad chaperones.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Combing the Hair<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>
\nHilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas
\nabout 1896<\/p>\n

Oil on canvas 114.3 x 146.7 cm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

35.247
drawing
The Toilet after the Bath<\/em><\/strong>
Degas, Edgar (1834 – 1917, French)
Paris, France (place made)
circa 1890-1895
charcoal and pastel on paper, added to on three sides, mounted on card
French
framed: 465 mm x 435 mm x 35 mm; unframed: 380 mm x 340 mm
Charcoal and pastel drawing entitled ‘La Toilette’, depicting woman bending over, behind her to left a maid standing holding a garment, by Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is some distinction of social class being made in these images. Are we looking at the intimate lives of Parisian working girls? Or are we pretending that we are looking at bourgeois bath-time? Or are we supposed to experience a frisson from looking at goings-on in the brothel? Or is this all completely irrelevant to Degas\u2019 interesting and unusual vantage points, compositions and technical mastery? The exhibition raises some of these questions, but doesn\u2019t answer many of them. They might have been dealt with more fully in the otherwise helpful catalogue. But this is a gem of a show, which delights the eye while making you think hard about what you are seeing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A small Degas show, \u201cDrawn in Colour,\u201d at the National Gallery until 7 May, comprises a splendid group of pictures, chiefly on loan from the Burrell Collection, near Glasgow, complemented by some from the National\u2019s own horde. It\u2019s a little difficult to find, as it\u2019s not in the Sainsbury wing, but in the main-floor galleries, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blogroll-2","7":"category-elsewhere","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbv6zV-n5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1431"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1436,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1431\/revisions\/1436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/plainenglish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}