Bibliograph

Little dancer aged fourteen, the true story behind Degas's masterpiece, Camille Laurens ; translated from the French by Willard Wood

Type

Label

Little dancer aged fourteen, the true story behind Degas's masterpiece, Camille Laurens ; translated from the French by Willard Wood

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references

resource.biographical

individual biography

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Little dancer aged fourteen

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1020293420

Responsibility statement

Camille Laurens ; translated from the French by Willard Wood

Sub title

the true story behind Degas's masterpiece

Summary

She is famous throughout the world, but how many know her name? You can admire her figure in Washington, Paris, London, New York, Dresden, or Copenhagen, but where is her grave? We know only her age, fourteen, and the work that she did--because it was already grueling work, at an age when children today are sent to school. In the 1880s, she danced as a "little rat" at the Paris Opera, and what is often a dream for young girls now wasn't a dream for her. She was fired after several years of intense labor; the director had had enough of her repeated absences. She had been working another job, even two, because the few pennies the Opera paid weren't enough to keep her and her family fed. She was a model, posing for painters or sculptors--among them Edgar Degas. Drawing on a wealth of historical material as well as her own love of ballet and personal experiences of loss, Camille Laurens presents a compelling, compassionate portrait of Marie van Goethem and the world she inhabited that shows the importance of those who have traditionally been overlooked in the study of art

Target audience

adult

Classification