Ukrainian dancers

Russian dancers is a theme series of pastels by Edgar Degas depicting Ukrainian women performing folk dances. Degas created these drawings during the 1890s and early 1900s, and was probably motivated by Ukrainian dancers performing in Paris at the time.

Since the dancing women came from the Russian Empire, Degas used the name "Les danseuses russes" ("Russian [female] dancers")[1] and it was known under this name in English and French sources, despite vast ethnographic and art historical evidence for the Ukrainian origin of the women.[2][3][4]

There were a number of voices calling for changing the misleading "Russian" name, criticizing it as "deliberate or just lazy misinterpretation" of Ukraine for many years.[2] These calls intensified with the beginning of Russian invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. The increased focus prompted London's National Gallery to rename a drawing from its collection Ukrainian dancers in April 2022.[5][2][3]

In February 2023 Metropolitan Museum changed the name of one of the pastels to Dancers in the Ukrainian dress after calls from Ukrainian representatives including an art historian and journalist.[6][7]

Pastels

There are at least 18 pastels and sketches of Ukrainian dancers created by Degas, mostly in the second half of the 1890s.

Lisa Bixenstine classifies them as 6 finished pastels, 4 unfinished ones, and 8 sketches.[8]

Artwork Year Technique Canvas(cm) Catalogue Collection Reference
1894pastel54 x 34MS 390private collection[9]
1895pastel and charcoal48 x 67MS 392private collection[10]
1895-1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal62 x 67MS 383Nationalmuseum (Stockholm, Sweden)[11]
1898pastel and charcoal73 x 59MS 389private collection[12]
1898Pastel, charcoal and black chalk on paper mounted on cardboard67 x 57MS 394Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, United States)[13]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal62,2 x 62,9MS 384Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, United States)[14]
1899paper, pastel62,9 x 64,7MS 385Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States)[15][16]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal61,9 x 45,7MS 387Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States)[17][18]
1899pastel58,4 x 76,2MS 391private collection[19]
1899Pastel and charcoal on 5 sheets of paper mounted on cardboard73 x 59,1MS 393, MS 1845National Gallery (London, Great Britain)[20][21][22]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal59,3 x 38MS 1533private collection[23]
1900-1905paper, pastel, charcoal98,3 x 75,5MS 1204private collection[24]
paper, charcoalMetropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States)
с. 1899paper, pastel, charcoal63 x 60,8private collection[25]
1900-1905paper, pastel, charcoal54 x 71,1private collection[26]

References
  1. "Degas: "Russian Dancers" and the Art of Pastel". J. Paul Getty Museum. Degas himself (mistakenly) titled a series of works with this name
  2. Quinn, Ben (2022-04-03). "National Gallery renames Degas' Russian Dancers as Ukrainian Dancers". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  3. "Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas | Ukrainian Dancers | NG6581 | National Gallery, London". The National Gallery. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  4. Bixenstine 1987, p. 102–160.
  5. Valentina Di Liscia. London's National Gallery Renames Degas's "Russian Dancers" as "Ukrainian Dancers". Hyperallergic, April 5, 2022
  6. Музей Метрополітен перейменував російських танцівниць на українських. Vogue.ua, Feb 8, 2023
  7. Met renames Degas's Russian Dancers and recognize Kuindzhi as Ukrainian artist. global.espreso.tv, 9 February, 2023
  8. Bixenstine 1987, p. 59.
  9. Danseuses russes. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  10. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  11. Three Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  12. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  13. Russian Dancer. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  14. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  15. "Russian Dancers". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  16. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  17. "Russian Dancer". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  18. Russian dancer. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  19. Danseuses russes. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  20. "Russian Dancers". The National Gallery. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  21. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  22. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  23. Danseuse russe. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  24. Three Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  25. Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale/Lot 5. Sotheby's
  26. Live Auction 1429. Impressionist and Modern Art (Evening Sale). Christie's

Sources

Literature
  • Richard Kendall and Jill DeVonyar. Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement. Exhibition catalog, Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2011, pp. 19, 227, 229–31, 237
  • David Bomford et al. in Art in the Making: Degas. Exhibition catalog, National Gallery. London, 2004
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