PARIS.- On March 23rd, the Impressionist and Modern Art department will present a sale dedicated to Edgar Degas. Comprising 55 works on paper, the collection comes from the heirs of Degas’ brother, René de Gas. These high quality drawings are dated between 1855 and 1865 and feature the artist’s early works. From his sketches of human anatomy, inspired from Antiquity and Old Masters, one can already convey his artistic ambitions. There is no doubt collectors and connoisseurs will recognise some references to Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and Ingres through Degas’ drawings.

The sale will be divided into six sections, featuring studies inspired by the Old Masters, Antiquity, portraits of his family, sketches for later paintings and academic studies. The auction is estimated in the region of €1M.

Anika Guntrum, International Director of the department: "It is a great honour for our department to offer early works by Edgar Degas to international collectors present in Paris. These previously unseen works on paper give us the opportunity to discover the artist’s evolution, his artistic ambitions and his peregrinations between Paris and Italy. Collectors will have the chance to acquire these rare works which already announce his brilliant career.

OLD MASTERS
In 1853, while Degas was studying law to please his father, he used to visit the prints department of the National Library in Paris, where he copied Dürer, Rembrandt, Veronese or Goya and spent his free time at the Louvre Museum.

An ink on paper inspired by the etching technique of Rembrandt and entitled “Femmes au Lavoir” will be presented in this auction (estimate: €15,000-20,000). This work reflects the admiration of Degas for the technique of the Dutch Master in the treatment of lines and the chiaroscuro technic. In the present work we see a man (perhaps the artist himself), his back turned toward the viewer, discretely watching laundresses at work. In the 1860s his principal theme was women in society, particularly those who earned their living: laundresses, shop keepers, singers in the caféconcert. And from the mid-1870s to the end of his career, it would be his vision through the “key-hole” of intimate scenes of women bathing.

On 4 April 1853, he registered as a copyist at the Louvre Museum and continues to study French, Italian and Dutch Old Masters. Though this approach, Degas brings to his own works the timeless beauty found in Old Masters’ paintings.

International connoisseurs will be able to discover a beautiful study after Leonardo da Vinci’s Saint Jean Baptiste. This work was realised by Degas in 1853-54 at barely 20 years old (estimated €50,000-70,000).

ANTIQUITY
In 1855, Degas entered the Fine Art School of Paris and continued his numerous visits to the Louvre Museum. The Antique masterpieces were a source of inspiration for him and his drawings announce his first major works such as “Les petites filles spartiates provoquant les garçons” or “Scène de guerre au Moyen-Âge ». Many of these drawings will be offered in this auction, as a study referencing “Le Gladiateur Borghèse”, dated circa 1855 and estimated at €25,000 – 30,000.

ACADEMIC STUDIES
“Draw lines, draw a lot of lines, you will become a good artist”. (J.D. Ingres to E. Degas in A. Alexandre, Degas, nouveaux aperçus in L’Art et les Artistes, no. 29, 1935, p. 146).

Between 1856 and 1865, Degas travelled to Italy to study the Old Masters of the Renaissance and attented public classes on Sunday evenings at the French Academy of the Villa Medicis. Our section of academic drawings illustrates his rigorous studies of human anatomy and musculature and probably remains his finest early accomplishments. “Nu assis”, a sanguine on laid paper is a perfect example of this period. Executed circa 1854-56, this drawing is estimated between €50,000 and 70,000.

FAMILY PORTRAITS
Back in Paris, Edgar Degas settled in a studio rue de Laval and choose to paint members of his family. A lot of these drawings realised in the 1860s represent his brother René and his sister Thérèse. These portraits illustrate his traditionalism, his admiration for neoclassical paintings and for Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. During his studies in the Fine Art School of Paris, Degas regularly visited the Master’s studio to show him his drawings.

The sketch on the left represents Degas’ sister depicted in the style of Ingres but with the realism of Gustave Courbet. In this portrait, one can see all the vulnerability of Thérèse de Gas (estimated: €50,000-70,000).