National Art Gallery - Degas

My friend from work, Jessica, told me about the exhibition on the National Gallery about Degas, several months ago. In my new fashion, I waited until it was almost over to go visit it. Degas has always attracted me, especially his fascination with ballerinas that drove him to draw them over and over again. The exhibition was one room, smaller than I was expecting. Nevertheless, I learned a lot. Degas did paintings and sculptures. Most of the painters of the time created nude sculptures to study the anatomy and movement before creating their final drawings, and Degas was no exception. Degas famous ballerina sculpture was not a study but a final presentation piece. The sculpture was fully dressed, and the dress is made of actual fabric. It is made out of wax and bronze, and the original one had actual hair! Thankfully as displayed now, the hair is sculpted. My favorite piece of the show is "The Ballet Master", the ballerinas seem rough and ethereal, like in a dream.