Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot (1896–97): Art, History and Details

Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot (1896–97) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Degas produced numerous wax sculptures during his lifetime that were cast in bronze shortly after his death. This late work continues his fascination with dancers and the physical sensation of the human body in motion. Marks made by artist's fingers are visible in the bronze surface.

Object facts

• Title: Dancer Looking at the Sole of her Right Foot
• Date: 1896–97
• Creator attribution: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Overall: 46.4 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm (18 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 in.)
• Collection: Mod Euro - Sculpture 1800-1960
• Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1947.2028

A detail from the museum

Degas often frequented the Garnier opera house in Paris to observe the dancers during both onstage performances and backstage rehearsals. Paying careful attention to their movements and poses, he produced nearly 1,500 works depicting ballet dancers, including paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Collection credit

Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Rewald, John, ed. Degas; Works in Sculpture. New York: Pantheon Books, 1944.
• Foote, Helen S. "Dancer Looking at Sole of Her Right Foot." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XXXIV, no. 7, part 1 (September, 1947): 180-181.
• Cleveland Museum of Art. Works by Edgar Degas. Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 5 to March 9, 1947. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1947.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.