Before the Race

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Before the Race, c. 1887-1889

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)

pastel, Sheet: 57.5 x 65.4 cm (22 5/8 x 25 11/16 in). Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.27

Location:

not on view

Description

Like his attraction to the theater and the ballet, Degas’s enduring fascination with the races revealed
his interest in addressing moments of reflection or anticipation in the midst of urban life. His racecourse
subjects seldom depict the race itself and never the finish line. Instead, he focused on moments of rest
or transition, such as the tense moments before a start, showing jockeys and horses in suspended
motion, seemingly haphazardly dispersed across the canvas or page.

Exhibition History

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; May 13 - July 13, 2003. " Object in Focus: Degas' Jockeys "Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 15 - May 16, 2004. "Time Stands Still: Muybridge and the Instantaneous Photography Movement". Not in exh. cat.CMA (organizer). Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"CMA, "Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art" (Mar. 9, 2014-Jun. 8, 2014)The Cleveland Museum of Art (11/19/2016 - 3/19/2017); "Pure Color: Pastels from the Cleveland Museum of Art”

Research

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Library materials about Edgar Degas (213)