Ukrainian dancers

Ukrainian dancers, or traditionally Russian dancers, is a theme series of pastels by Edgar Degas depicting Ukrainian women performing ethnic dances. These paintings were created during the 1890s and early 1900s and were probably motivated by Ukrainian dancers performance in Paris of those times. Dancing women came from Russian Empire, so throughout the 20th century these paintings were attributed as "Russian dancers" in English and French sources, despite vast ethnographic and art historical evidence of Ukrainian origin of women.[1]

There were a number of voices calling for changing the misleading "Russian" name, criticizing it as "deliberate or just lazy misinterpretation" of Ukraine.[2] These calls intensified with the beginning of Russian invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. In response London's National Gallery renamed a painting from its collection as "Ukrainian dancers" in April 2022.[3][2]

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.[4]

Painting Year Technique Canvas(cm) Catalogue Collection Reference
1894pastel54 x 34MS 390private collection[5]
1895pastel and charcoal48 x 67MS 392private collection[6]
1895-1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal62 x 67MS 383Nationalmuseum (Stockholm, Sweden)[7]
1898pastel and charcoal73 x 59MS 389private collection[8]
1898Pastel, charcoal and black chalk on paper mounted on cardboard67 x 57MS 394Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, USA)[9]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal62,2 x 62,9MS 384Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, USA)[10]
1899paper, pastel62,9 x 64,7MS 385Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA)[11][12]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal61,9 x 45,7MS 387Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA)[13][14]
1899pastel58,4 x 76,2MS 391private collection[15]
1899Pastel and charcoal on 5 sheets of paper mounted on cardboard73 x 59,1MS 393, MS 1845National Gallery (London, Great Britain)[16][17][18]
1899tracing paper, pastel, charcoal59,3 x 38MS 1533private collection[19]
1900-1905paper, pastel, charcoal98,3 x 75,5MS 1204private collection[20]
paper, charcoalMetropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA)
с. 1899paper, pastel, charcoal63 x 60,8private collection[21]
1900-1905paper, pastel, charcoal54 x 71,1private collection[22]

See also

References
  1. Bixenstine 1987, p. 105-110.
  2. Quinn, Ben (2022-04-03). "National Gallery renames Degas' Russian Dancers as Ukrainian Dancers". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  3. Valentina Di Liscia. London's National Gallery Renames Degas's "Russian Dancers" as "Ukrainian Dancers". Hyperallergic, April 5, 2022
  4. Bixenstine 1987, p. 59.
  5. Danseuses russes. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  6. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  7. Three Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  8. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  9. Russian Dancer. 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. "Russian Dancers". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  12. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  13. "Russian Dancer". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  14. Russian dancer. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  15. Danseuses russes. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  16. "Ukrainian Dancers". The National Gallery. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  17. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  18. Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  19. Danseuse russe. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  20. Three Russian Dancers. The online critical catalogue of paintings and pastels by Edgar Degas by Michel Schulman.
  21. Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale/Lot 5. Sotbey's
  22. Live Auction 1429. Impressionist and Modern Art (Evening Sale). Cristie'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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