09/20/2026
Happy National Dance Day! đź©°
The Met's bronze cast of Edgar Degas's "Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer" has captivated generations of visitors at the Museum for almost 100 years.
Originally made with beeswax, human hair, fabric, and ballet slippers, it was the only sculpture Degas exhibited during his lifetime and was praised—and criticized—for its striking realism.
After his death in 1917, the sculpture was reproduced in bronze, preserving remarkable details of the original, including the texture of the hair and bodice and even a crack in the dancer’s arm.
In 2018, a new tutu was created to more closely reflect Degas’s original vision, showing how art conservation continues to shape our experience of this iconic work.
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Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris), "The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer," modeled 1881, cast 1922, modern tutu. Partially tinted bronze, cotton tarlatan, silk satin, and wood. On view in Gallery 815.
