Little Dancer, Aged 14 years By Degas

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years ("French: La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans") is a c. 1881 sculpture by Edgar Degas of a young dance student named Marie van Goethem. The sculpture was originally made in wax before it was cast in 1922 in bronze. It is built from wax, an unusual choice of material for a sculpture of this time, dressed in a cotton skirt with a hair ribbon, sitting on a wooden base. The exact relationship between Marie van Goethem and Edgar Degas is a matter of debate. It was usual in 1880 for the 'Petits Rats' of the Opera of Paris to seek protectors from among the wealthy visitors at the back door of the opera.