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The Musée d’Orsay pays tribute to Edgar Degas (1834-1917) on the occasion of the centenary of his death, with an exhibition whose thread has been found in a book, remarkable but unknown, of his friend of more than twenty years, the writer, poet and thinker Paul Valery (1871- 1945).
«Degas Dance Drawing» offers a real meditation on crea- tion in a poetic evocation.
Through numerous drawings by Degas and the famous notebooks by Paul Valery, the exhibition also evokes the importance of the paintings and books that were, for both, the crucible of their art. It gives a particular place to the book, «Degas Dance Drawing», published by Vollard in 1936, in the form of a luxury book published in sheets and illustrated with 26 out-of-texts reproducing graphic works by Degas.
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Dancer scratching her back, between 1873 and 1876
Black stone and heightened white on bistre paper, 45 x 30 cm Paris, musée d’Orsay, RF 4645
Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Orsay Museum) / Adrien Didierjean
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