Lot Essay
This drawing is dedicated to Georges William Thornley, a lithographer associated with the dealers Boussod et Valadon, who ran a lucrative business in publishing reproductions. In 1888-1889 Degas collaborated with Thornley on a folio of fifteen monochrome lithographs based on Degas's paintings and pastels. "...while Thornley did not seek to imitate the surfaces of the works he reproduced, he did try to capture the artist's 'touch,' that personal quality usually lost by the printmaker when translating a painter's syntax into that of his own medium... Thornley brought the art of reproduction to new heights..." (D. Druick and P. Zegers, "Degas and the Printed Image," Edgar Degas: The Painter as Printmaker, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, exhibition catalogue, 1984, pp. Ivii - Iviii)
This drawing is related to a less finished study (see The Artist's Studio, third sale, Galerie Georges Petit, April 7-9, 1918, lot 112-2).
Philippe Brame and Theodore Reff have confirmed the authenticity of this drawing.
This drawing is related to a less finished study (see The Artist's Studio, third sale, Galerie Georges Petit, April 7-9, 1918, lot 112-2).
Philippe Brame and Theodore Reff have confirmed the authenticity of this drawing.