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Before the Race
Edgar Degasc. 1887–89
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Degas returned to the theme of horse and rider time and again throughout his career. Scholars believe that he executed the first version of this composition of four jockeys on horseback in a charcoal and pastel drawing. Several years later, he traced the composition, reversing its orientation to create the highly finished Cleveland pastel. The palette is intensified, the distance between the second and third jockeys is increased, and the foliage along the horizon has been added to suggest a lush spring day.
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Details
- Title: Before the Race
- Creator: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
- Date Created: c. 1887–89
- Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 57.5 x 65.4 cm (22 5/8 x 25 3/4 in.)
- Provenance: Henry Lerolle [1848–1929], Paris, (Hector Brame, Paris), (César M. de Hauke, New York), (Jacques Seligmann, New York, sold to Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Cleveland, OH), Leonard C. Hanna Jr. [1889–1957], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Drawing
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1958.27
- Medium: pastel with charcoal underdrawing on tracing paper mounted on cardboard
- Inscriptions: signed, lower right, in black pastel: Degas
- Fun Fact: When creating the series to which this pastel belongs, Edgar Degas was inspired by the 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who attempted to record motion in static images.
- Department: Drawings
- Culture: France, 19th century
- Credit Line: Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
- Collection: DR - French
- Accession Number: 1958.27
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