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ID number: BIRBI-50.2 Institution: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Artist / Maker: Degas, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar (1834-1917) Title / Object name: Jockeys before the race Object type: Painting Culture: French Date made: 1878/79 Materials: Oil, essence, gouache and pastel on paper Measurements: 107.3 x 73.7 cm unframed; 138 x 105 x 9.5 cm framed Provenance: Purchased by Durand-Ruel, 1880; purchased by Charles Haviland, Paris; his sale 7 December 1922 (lot 42), purchased by Alexander Reid on commission for D. W. T. Cargill; sold via Reid & Lefèvre in 1950; Purchased from Alex. Reid & Lefèvre Ltd., in 1950 for £8,500. |
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Racing was a favourite theme of Degas and this is one of his largest pictures of the subject. Painted in 1878/9, it was exhibited in Paris at the 4th Impressionist Exhibition in 1879 and four years later in London (where it drew a satirical response from Punch). The unusual medium of oil thinned with turpentine (essence) was one of which Degas, a technical experimenter, was very fond. The low viewpoint, eccentric composition and spatial flatness may owe something to Japanese prints, much admired at this time. Inscriptions / Translations: Signed l.r.: Degas Notes: Exhibited: 'Fourth Impressionist Exhibition', Paris, France, 1879, cat. no. 63; 'Exhibition of works by members of the Société des Impressioniste', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1883, cat. no. 58; 'Masterpieces of French Art', Agnew's, London, UK, 1923, cat. no. 7; 'Works by Degas', Lefèvre Galleries, London, UK, 1928, cat. no. 13; 'Exhibition of French Art', Burlington House, London, UK, 1932, cat. no. 460; 'Degas', Orangerie, Paris, France, 1937, cat. no. 107; 'Degas', Lefèvre Galleries, London, UK, 1950, cat. no. 5; 'Degas 1879', National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK, 13 August 1979 - 30 September 1979, cat. no. 11; 'French Impressionism: Treasures from the Midlands', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK, 07 June 1991 - 18 August 1991, pp. 22-3; 'Les Figures d'Elstir', Musee des Beaux Arts, Caen, France, 25 June 1993 - 30 August 1993; 'Art Treasures of England', Royal Academy, London, UK, 22 January 1998 - 13 April 1998, cat. no. 352; 'Degas, Sickert and Toulouse-Lautrec, London and Paris 1870-1910', Tate, London, UK, 05 January 2005 - 15 January 2006, cat. no. 19; 'Impressionism and Scotland', National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK, 19 July 2008 - 12 October 2008; 'Impressionism and Scotland', Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, UK, 31 October 2008 - 01 February 2009; 'Edgar Degas: Classicism and Experimentation', Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlesruhe, Germany, 8 November 2014 - 15 February 2015 |
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1 Related People | |
| Degas, Hilaire Germain Edgar French 1834 1917 | |
3 Related Publications | |
| Degas, Sickert and Toulouse-Lautrec London and Paris 1870-1910 Gruetzner Robins, A. and Thomson, R. Tate Publishing 2005 | |
| Degas et son oeuvre Lemoisne, P. A. 1946 | |
| Degas: The Uncontested Master Kinsman, Jane and Pantazzi, Michael 2008 | |
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