Edgar Degas’ Danseuse rose (circa 1896, estimate: £2,500,000-3,500,000)and Femme sortant du bain (circa 1886-88, estimate: £1,300,000-1,800,000) will feature in Christie’s 20th and 21st Century evening sale next June 30. Together, they represent Degas’ exploration of two of the themes he found most enduring – that of the dancer at rest and the intimate gestures of a woman bathing. Through the second half of his career, pastel had become Degas’ favoured medium, its materiality allowing him to build up complex layered colour schemes in his compositions. These two works on paper illustrate not only the evolution of Degas’ technique over the course of a decade, reflecting his mastery of the medium, but also the growing importance of working in series within his practice at this time. Danseuse rose and Femme sortant du bain have remained in the same private collection for over 20 years and have not been seen publicly since the 1990s.
