An exhibition rich of masterpieces that tell about the relationship between the Barbizon school of France and the diffusion of realism and naturalism in Central and Eastern Europe brings together from museums all over the world 134 works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and many others who can be compared with the main painters of countries of Central and Eastern Europe. If you happen to be in Udine, visit The Age of Courbet and Monet at the majestic ensemble of Villa Manin in Passariano until March 7, 2010.
more…

One of the most useful ways for me to talk about the making of art is to quote megawatt sculptor, Richard Serra, from an interview I read years ago in (maybe) ArtForum where he said, “I like what I lack.” Me too. I can draw and have taken drawing classes for decades but I will never be able to execute with the grace of Degas or the grandeur of Ingres. You gotta love those French draftsmen.

I was reminded of this when I went to the opening reception of Kirsten Stingle’s stunning ceramic and mixed media show at Clay Scot Artworks last night. Her craft is amazing, her storytelling is captivating and darn it, the artist herself is down to earth and likeable. Google the Facebook page for Clay Scot and prepare to be enchanted.

For gift giving tips this Christmas, Southernness suggests you think about talents you’ve heard your intended recipient say they wish they had, but don’t and covet. I don’t expect a Degas drawing, but I wonder if Kirsten Stingle has drawings from the developmental stages of the pieces I relished at Clay Scot Artworks. I would thrill to unwrap one of those this Christmas. Would someone please call Darrell Ezekial or Philip (the gallery owners) at Clay Scot and check it out. If not for me, then for someone on your own holiday gift list. The question is, “I think you’ll like it. Do you lack it?”

Happy SEMISEPTCENTENNIAL Christmas Y’all,

Ben South

Southernness

Un principiu pe care-l tin minte de la ora de economie, zicea ceva de “placerea continua duce la diminuarea oricarei placeri”, de unde fortand un pic logica, rezulta ca o placere e cu atat mai intensa cu cat e mai rara si mai redusa ca durata. hmm/:)  Oricum, starea de graţie – e o stare limitata in timp? e o stare prin excelenţă? o chestie care abia de este si a si trecut, precum bataia unei aripi de fluture?… sa o repeti sau prelungesti dupa bunul plac, inseamna deja sa-i iei exact ceea ce o face unica, farmecul clipei si emotia gandului ca esti martor la ceva irepetabil?…

*Nu stiu ce am vrut sa zic. cel mai probabil nu a fost decat o stare de betie de idei care m-a trecut am si d’astea…

… serait la valeur de l’art ?

warhol avait sérigraphié 200 billets de 1 dollar… le tableau vient d’être vendu pour 43,7 millions de la même monnaie.

Peter Doig a obtenu 10,1 millions de dollars pour une de ses toiles pourtant seulement estimée entre 4 et 6 millions de dollars. Le vendeur, qui avait acquis la toile en 1996 pour 11 000 dollars, ne peut que s’en féliciter. Quand à l’acheteur, la semaine précédente – toujours chez Christie’s -, d’un pastel représentant une danseuse se massant les pieds, il pourra ricaner un brin en se disant que son nouveau Degas, acquis 9,5 millions de dollars hors frais, lui a coûté moins cher qu’un Peter Doig

Mit  (for tiden)  favorit-kunstværk i København er Edgar Degas‘ Balletdanserinde, fjorten år (1881), der er at opleve på Carlsberg Glyptoteket.

Info: Skulpturen Balletdanserinde, fjorten år af Edgar Degas (1834-1917) blev tidligere på året solgt på auktion hos Sotheby’s i London for den rekordhøje pris af knap 13,3 mio pund. Skulpturen findes i flere eksemplarer, fordelt på museer og hos private kunstsamlere verden over.  Originalen i voks er nu udstillet på National Gallery of Art i Washington, men du kan nyde en smuk bronzeafstøbning af hende på 1. salen i Glyptotekets franske samling.

I’m twenty! I had a minor freak-out on my birthday, then a gentleman in my poetry workshop said “You’re just having a quarter-life crisis,” and he gave me chocolate, and everything was uphill from there, really.

Here I am in a birthday gift shirt, looking glam:

And – wait for it – in BIRTHDAY GIFT COWBOY BOOTS!

Now when I tell people (as some ladies can testify I have begun doing lately) that I want to beat myself to death with my own cowboy boots, I’ll have the correct props with which to pantomine!

So, what am I doing now that I’m twenty? Well, the same things I’ve always been doing, really. Today I went to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to see Ingres’ Comtesse d’Haussonville and to hear a lecture by costume scholar Aileen Ribeiro about Ingres’ relationship to fashion. The lecture was incredible, and deserves its own post, which I’ll perhaps write tomorrow. Today, content yourselves with some sketches I did at the museum.

First, of a small Degas statue, Dancer Looking at The Sole of Her Right Foot:

And then, of the Comtesse herself:

They’re not perfect, but as my artist pa is always telling me, museum sketches aren’t for perfection, they’re just reminders – somewhat better than photos, somewhat worse than owning the piece of art yourself. They’re so you’ll come on your little sketchbook in a couple of years and say “Oh, yeah. I remember that day. I remember that painting. Cool.”

TWENTY YEARS OLD IN COWBOY BOOTS LOOKING AT ART! IT COULD BE WORSE, BABY!

Dopo il bagno - Donna che si Asciuga - Edgar Degas

La cambio io la vita che

non ce la fa a cambiare me…

Fenomeni che sembrano momentanei

alberi che quando piove piangono

e persone intrufolate tra le pietre

con i loro ombrelli luridi

e gli alberi in lacrime

come amori che gridano soli.

Amori capovolti

e io che vago tra quattro pareti gialle,

risoluto,

uno spezzone di “C’era una volta il West”,

un paio di bugie

e via ad ascoltare gli alberi

che continuano a piangere

anche dopo la pioggia.

Finisce il rumore assordante,

ma solo per le tue orecchie:

continuano a parlare di coraggio e di farfalle

i poveri passeggeri innamorati

che già dimorano sotto la realtà,

e non possono davvero amare,

non possono.

Ma dove trovi un’apertura

troverai anche la fila

di chi ha smesso di credere

e comunque continua a sorridere agli altri in coda:

e allora proprio non sono un posto per poeti a modo,

queste pareti gialle

questo dirsi le cose con affetto,

senza pugnalate alle spalle.

E non serve alzare la voce,

ché le aperture sono davvero l’ultimo miraggio prima dell’ingoio urbano.

Non bisogna giudicare la felicità,

non è importante,

se l’amore grida.

Ciò che stupisce e schiaccia

è la costante e vera contraddizione,

liscia, di sorrisi misti a insulti

di modernità danzanti

di cocktail marci.

Non è che importi a qualcuno, anzi:

è certamente più pericolosa

la sfacciata buffonaggine del poeta

il suo contraddirsi fasullo,

difensivo e cremoso.

Chi si ripara dalla pioggia

in effetti non ha capito

che l’amore non grida per nessuno,

sanguina solo.

Ma nessuno gioca fino in fondo

nessuno lascia i propri sputi

sul letto dove scopa,

solo un branco eccitato di servili pulitori e di dolci esseri umani

ha diritto alla bugia e al candore.

Solo il poeta che si spoglia e si arrende

trova riparo e si perde finalmente nell’angoscia.

This week’s random art piece of the week is not so random.

In fact, it is a personal favorite of mine.

La Classe de Danse

This is Degas’ “La Classe de Danse”, by Edgar Degas, dated 1873-1875.

Degas is a member of the impressionist era, an era whose artists were more concerned with emotion than structure. Works like Degas’ are more interested in capturing a moment than an “ideal form”. For an impressionist, being realistic in capturing an image was subjective. The emotion and colors and ideas were more important than “accurately” displaying the content. In “La Classe de Danse” the brush strokes can easily be seen, and in some places the grain of the canvas can be seen. There is detail without specificity, and it is his use of color that does this.

Take, for instance the girl in the foreground with the flower in her hair. Every individual fold in her tutu cannot be seen, but you are still able to tell what it is, and get an idea for the texture. The lightness of the individual layers can be seen from the barely there haze of white that covers the tops of her calves.

This piece in particular draws me in, as it hung in the dance studio I went to when I was a child. As a young “ballerina in training” there was nothing quite like looking up to see the women in their pointe shoes and outfits. The drama of the shine in the ribbon, the volume of the skirt, the tulle that looked so easy to crush…it was just too much. I still long to be able to perform in an outfit like that. In fact, if I had one like that, I would probably never take it off.

What has always intrigued me the most about this painting, however, was just what was being taught. I’m unable to get even a hint from the various poses of the girls (everything from sitting on a piano to alert in “B plus”). However, if I was the little dog in the foreground, and the girls were about to start battements (high kicks done with a straight leg), I’d probably get the hell out of the way.

In reference to the auction held at Christie’s New York on Tuesday evening, one dealer was quoted by the New York Times as stating, “It was a night where the buyers did the editing.”

From The New York Times:

It was a thin sale of Impressionist and modern art, with just 40 works on offer and prices that fell below estimates. The evening totaled $65.6 million but had been estimated to bring at least $68.6 million.

Throughout the night at the salesroom at Rockefeller Center, what bidding there was took place mostly on the telephone … only 29 percent of the buyers were Americans, while 42 percent of the buyers were Europeans, a category that includes Russians.

There were some high points to what was clearly a disappointing evening. The star was an 1896 Degas pastel of a young dancer rubbing her foot, the image on the cover of the sale catalog. It brought $9.5 million ($10.7 million including fees to Christie’s), well above its $9 million high estimate. The winning bid was taken by Ken Yeh, deputy chairman of Christie’s in Asia.

(…) But not all such appealing images sold. One surprising failure was Pissarro’s “Pont du chemin de fer, Pontoise,” an 1873 landscape. Christie’s had estimated that it would bring at least $3.5 million. But there was only one bidder, who was not prepared to spend more than $3.2 million, so the painting went unsold. “I was surprised,” said Lionel Pissarro, a Paris dealer who is a great-grandson of the artist. “It is a beautiful painting and it wasn’t overpriced.”

Click here to continue reading

Women combing their hair has always been a magnificent and revealing image for me.

I start with a solemn piece by Munch, who opens this small collection of pictures. I love the red, the fiery orange and dark yellows, in contrast with the cool colors of the window. There is a sense of transience in the picture, the young woman is ready to do something else, go out and enjoy life, open the window for good, this little ceremony is like the last thing she does before delivering herself to the world. She is ready to enjoy life, she does not have much time for brooding and contemplation, she gets the job done as required, but this is about it!  The sure sign of this psychological posture is the fact that the woman is fully dressed when she is combing her hair, and she is standing.

Edward Munch - Woman combing her hair

It may be the length of the hair (οι βοστρυχοι στα ελληνικα) it may be the serenity of the process, it may be the curved body parts, it may be the fact that in the process the woman is reflecting upon her appearance or something else.

Whatever it is, this type of  image speaks to me.

Rossetti’s Lady Lilith (1863) is combing her hair and watching herself on the hand held mirror. The first wife of Adam has a lot to think about and to contemplate while watching her own beauty on the mirror. The atmosphere of the picture is gloomy and totally inward. Lady Lilith is not interested in anything really, but herself. This morbid narcissism is totally captivating in the picture. It is after all, a picture of vanity. The simple act of combing the hair becomes an open door to the woman’s personality. Her naked shoulder is escaping from the gown and is a clear sign of the intense carnal aspect of the picture. Although she is not naked or half dressed, this may be even more powerful.

Renoir is here painting the innocence and quite anticipation of the young girl in a fantastic way! The contrast of the browns and the beige with the flesh and the white night gown is startling. The purity and magnificence of the innocent is portrayed in the picture. Here, we see that this is really a portrait, not just a portrayal of the act.

Young girl combing her hair

The subliminal Titian is here painting the wife of one of his clients, who emerges triumphant from the act of combing her hair, and is helped by the servant who humbly looks down. She is not primarily a sexual agent, she is primarily a woman in charge. Her sight is full of determination, whether this refers to the hair or something else. She is a woman who means business and nothing else.  The posture of the servant is exemplifying the power as virtue that the picture radiates. The colors of the gown and shirt of the lady are not accidental. She is a creature of black and white.

Titian

Let me now move to pictures that are made by Edgar Degas in the last decade of the 19th century. One of the reasons I fell in love with Degas was his mastery of this subject.

Edgar Degas: Combing the hair (1892-6)

Here we have an orgy of reds, oranges, mixed with pink and the combing is done by a domestic helper. The young woman is totally left to the hands of her servant, maybe asleep, maybe dreaming. In stark contrast, the helper is awake, alert, and diligent in performing the task. The only sign that she may be awake is the posture she makes with her left hand.

This is a similar picture of Degas, but the combing here is done most likely by the sister of the young girl. The most beautiful part of the picture is the bent hand that supports the hair.

What a change when we move to the endlessly fascinating Balthus and his Alice! Alice is practically naked, and exhibits her beauty unashamedly. And why not?

She is young, she is beautiful, there is nothing to worry about, but the extent to which she will enjoy the pleasures of life. The room is empty, there is only one chair, we cannot make out her social class or status. Does it matter? I believe this is one of the points made by Balthus.

Cathy’s Toilette is a violent vibrating picture of domestic life gone on the rocks.

As I go through a period of preparation for my long anticipated trip to Japan, I include a serene picture from Japan.

Onna

In closing, I would like to show another Degas picture, whose colours I love.

Edgard Degas

Quest’insensato gesto meccanico

Che ci attanaglia

Questa crudele recita

Che non ci piace

Ma che purtroppo

Ci dobbiamo

Questo veloce fuggire e ripensare

Dicono sia piacevole,

ma io l’odio

come il percorrere le sabbie ardenti

nell’ora più cocente del meriggio.

Edgar Degas, "Petits Rats"

I saw my first Degas while visiting the National Gallery in Washington, DC, and paused in front of it for about ten minutes, trying to capture the grace of line that Degas seems to have so flawlessly captured in his paintings of ballerinas.  His unusual use of color is worth noting–brilliant colors that cared nothing for what the critics said, but instead recreated the glow of stage lighting.  Also, take a look at his compositions.  Often, his subjects go off the canvas, giving the viewer the impression that they are just catching a momentary glimpse of the dancers, like butterflies crossing your sight-line.    I hope you enjoy these selections of Degas’ paintings.

Edgar Degas, "Ballet Dancers in Butterfly Costumes"

Edgar Degas, "Opera Diablo". Love the viewpoint from the orchestra.

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas, "Ballet Rehearsal"

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas--love the colors here, her white skin in the pale yellow and pink.

Edgar Degas, "Yellow Ballerina"

Looking at his paintings really makes me want to paint some ballerinas. Maybe sometime soon.  I just have to figure out a way to get backstage during a ballet …

Newly finished greeting cards!

Within the next week or two you will be able to find a flock of my cards at the Eden Boheme Boutique in Charleston, 127 King Street.  For my inspiration, I looked to some designs that their boutique has been creating.  The Eden Boheme has been creating some couture-style dresses that are absolutely gorgeous in their femininity, flattering fit and luxurious fabrics–dream dresses for the princess in you that never quite went away.  Check out their stunning designs here.

        And a few of my favorite shots of thier recent photoshoot.  All credits due for the amazing photography are given to Diana Deaver, thier very talented and visionary photographer.

Eden Boheme Fashion 1

Eden Boheme Fashion 2

Eden Boheme Fashion 3

Eden Boheme Fashion 4

I love all their designs so much, I don’t think I could pick a favorite.  Although in this last picture (4) I think the center one is pretty incredible.  

A few of the cards I finished up today!  Enjoy…

Blue Ballerina Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Feather Hat Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Pink Ballerina Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Swavorski Gem Dress Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Feather Train Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Out and About Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Punk Feather Card, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Next post, I’ll be elaborating on my love of Edgar Degas and his use of color and composition in his paintings.  I can’t wait to share his inspiring work with you.  Stay posted!

Quadre de Degas. Aquest pintor es decantava sempre per retratar ballarines en indrets a l’aire lliure o en cases amb miralls on les ballarines s’hi podien  mirar mentre assajaven. Aquest quadre està en venda si esteu interessats.

Degas is repulsive.

- The New York Times, 1886

Gauguin is… a decorator tainted with insanity.

- Harpers Weekly, 1913

You scarsely know if you are looking at a parcel of nude flesh or a bundle of laundry.

- on Manets “Venus et le chat” in Le Figaro, 1863

Matisse is an unmitigated bore..surely the vogue of those twisted and contorted human figures… must be as short as it is artificial.

- Chicago Tribune 1913

it is the work of a madman.

- Ambroise Vollard, commenting on “Demoiselles d’Avignon” 1907

No intellegence can accept such aberrations.

- Le Figero art critic on Camille Pissarro, 1876

He (Renoir) has no talent at all, that boy…tell him please to give up painting.

- Edouard Manet on Renoir, 1864

Why should Titian and the Venetians be named on a discourse on art? Such idiots are not artists.

- William Blake, 1807

Certainly no man or woman of normal mental health would be attracted by the sadistic, obsene deformations of Cezanne, Modigliani, Matisse, Gauguin and the other Fauves.

- John Hemming Fry, The revolt against beauty,1934

Rembrandt is not to be compared in the painting of character with our extraordinarily gifted Engish artist, Mr. Rippingille.

- John Hunt (British art critic),1780

The Experts Speak, 1984, Villard Books, New York

Edgar Degas’s Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass (ca. 1882–85 oil on canvas). Havemeyer Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

When I looked at this painting, the first thing I noticed was the strong contrast of the white tutu against the dark brown wood panel of the wall. I think that having this glimpse into a world that we usually see only perfectly posed is quite exciting and real. The painting tells a story and one needs to study the several areas of activity to determine where one is in relation to the ballerinas. The viewer is placed in the unusual vantage point of what seems like a hallway. We see a double bass in the lower left hand corner; a ballerina seated gracefully bending to adjust her slipper; a dancer with her back to us looking down at her feet; a dancer at the bar with her arm and leg outstretched, pointing toward the remaining cluster of dancers (some with fans) who are in front of three French windows.

The number of hues employed in this work is small, consisting of burnt umber and various shades of brown, contrasted with the high value of white and small volumes of highly saturated red, blue and yellow.  The overall tone of the painting is warm but this is contrasted with the white and cool blues in the tutus. The painting is a study in light and shade. The shadows can be seen in the folds of the tutus, the shadows of the figures, and on the skin of the dancers. The relationships of the colours are made more complex and varied by modification of the hues in light and dark, that is, in value and in saturation. The subtly modulated colours increase in value when the sunlight hits them: the tutus, bows, pink in the slippers, red tinted hair (central figure) and on the rusty-colored double bass. Overall however, the tones of the painting are low in saturation. The dullness is exacerbated by the fact it is situated in quite a small, dark gallery only illuminated with a sky-light.

Degas has used black paint to outline the most important figures and forms, including the dancers limbs, the outline of some of the dresses and bows, and the double bass. Degas has used an impasto of thick but finely applied, pure white impasto brushstrokes to create actual texture for the main tutu, realistically showing sun sparkling on the delicate material. The composition shows a remarkable and clever use of spatial structure; the viewer is able to view four different centers of activity within quite a small space. The cluster of dancers are actually not far at all from the second largest figure; they are only recognized as being far away because their size/outlines are much smaller.

The opaque look of the surface means that Degas may have used a glaze after the painting was finished to bring out the intensity of the light. However, as Degas was above all dedicated to pastels and chalky, matte finishes, I conclude that this glaze was applied as a conservation treatment. This is highly possible considering it has toured with many exhibitions and its provenance shows multiple sales. There is lots of thinly applied paint color, sometimes one hue on top of another, and this two-tone effect, applied in a criss crossed motion, helps to create texture and depth. Up close the weaved canvas texture is visible. In raking light, it appears in pristine condition except for a bubble the size of a quarter located towards the top, almost in the centre of the painting.

The large planes of the wall have visible brush strokes, which move in the same direction as the line of the wall. Ecru, green and a buff cream colour are all blended together in sometimes messy, sweeping upward strokes along the top of the main wall. A wood-grain effect is achieved on the lower part of the wall with the seemingly casual strokes dark chocolate brown and auburn where the light reaches down the hallway. Visible upward brushstrokes following the diagonal wall line are visible, and combined with the flat-lying double bass, create a rhythmical movement as the planes of colour speed back, sharply receding into the dance studio. Brushstrokes of several different umber shades cover the floor, and very low saturated turquoise are blended to show the shadows cast by the dancers. The floor is a distinct plane, painted in dappled manner, with an amazing radiating light effect that mimics the circular shape of the tutus in that it wraps around the bottom right hand corner of the painting and joins the hallway to the main studio. This sweeping effect moves our attention between the cluster of dancers and the main dancer, and this implied line is important in defining the spatial relationship between forms in the painting.

The proportion of total volume devoted to the mass of brown wall is at first strange and imbalanced, but its purpose is to add to the expressive content of the painting. The dominant wall adds to the sense we really are peering at an unpolished scene through an unpolished hallway, which has the feeling of a narrowing binocular lense or tunnel.  The form of the double bass also adds to the expressive content, even though it is presently lying down and not being plucked at, its presence makes it is easy for the viewer to mentally conjure up the full symphony that will accompany the ballerinas in their final piece onstage.

Despite the asymmetric layout of forms within the composition, the painting still seems to have an overall harmony, as the high value floor space on the right balances the dark wall on the left. The contrast between the diagonal lines and the round lines of the tutus, the back of the dress of the central figure (and her graceful bow), and the curvy double bass also help to achieve a balance in the shapes and forms throughout the composition. The theme of dance and music add to the harmonious feeling of the painting, and are embodied in many different elements including the way the light shimmers on the floor, the escalating diagonal lines, and the unexpected dotted placement of color – that is very natural and real, like patches of flowers popping up randomly in an open field.

There are several compositional strategies carried within this painting, including use of diagonal lines, which, once you’ve studied the main dancer, help to carry your eye towards the brighter (higher value) hues in the studio. The diagonal lines are repeated in the fingerboard/strings of the double bass, the line of the wall, and the line formed by the outstretched leg and arm of the third-largest ballerina. Even the small placement of highly saturated colour follow a steep diagonal line from the red hair tie of the first ballerina, up to the blue shawl and red bow of the second, onto the fans of gold and red held by the smaller dancers. The faint lines of the wooden floor are also diagonally leading up to the back studio, but come from a different direction: starting from the right hand corner and radiating inwards. These radiating lines also help to convey the sunlight streaming in through the three French windows.

Rectangle shapes are another compositional motif – the overall canvas shape, the two rectangles formed by the two-tone wall; the French windows are ‘longway’ rectangles and their lines match vertical line of the end of the hallway, left of centre. The painting’s movement and dance theme do move and enliven the spirit, transporting you into the scene just as Berenson’s concept of ‘ideated satisfaction’ suggests. We can hear the music and sympathise with the amount of practice required of the dancers and the effort required in preparation for a performance. Berenson’s term ‘tactile values’ is not, in my opinion, as easily applied, due possibly to the vantage point of the viewer. You feel as though the dancers are in their own private world, and so you don’t want to reach out and touch them. However, I do have the feeling that I could reach into the painting and pick up the ballerinas as though they were dolls and imagine what movements they practiced next, just as you imagine in your head what type of music might be playing.

Degas’s use of light and shade in this painting also correlate directly to the energy levels of the dancers. The main figure, shown in the shadows is languid and the cluster of energetic activity is shown in the light. As with the sounds of a classical symphony, the movement between the soft and dramatic is captured in this painting.

ENDS

Impressionists

The Impressionists–Videos

The Impressionists–Videos–Movie

Mary Cassatt–Videos

Paul Cezanne Videos

Edgar Degas Videos

Paul Gauguin Videos

Edouard Manet Videos

Claude Monet Videos for 100th Post on Pronk Palisades

Camille Pissarro Videos

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Videos

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Videos

Georges-Pierre Seurat Video

Vincent Van Gogh Videos

American Realists

Winslow Homer Videos

Frederic Remington–Videos

Art Videos on youtube.com Channel: A PRONK STUDIO VIDEO

It hasn’t been the most restful Thanksgiving.

A few days ago, I found out about what could be one of the most significant art discoveries of the last 100 years.

For the last few days I’ve been piecing together the story, which involves a complete set of previously unknown plaster casts of sculptures by the Impressionist Edgar Degas including his most famous, Little Dancer, a New York art dealer’s quest to track down the forgotten plasters and a guarded secret shared by a clutch of excited scholars and hopeful private collectors.

Tomorrow The Times in London is running my story. 

Not everyone is convinced the find is genuine. It could be an elaborate hoax. But either way, for the artworld it’s a major event and for me, a reminder, should I need one, of why I love being a journalist.

*

Little Dancer points to sensational discovery of Degas sculpture hoard

They are either one of the most extraordinary art finds of the past 100 years or one of the most exquisite frauds to be attempted. One way or another, though, a complete set of 74 plaster sculptures of dancers, bathers and horses attributed to Edgar Degas will dominate discussion of the great Impressionist artist for years to come.

Bronzes cast from the plasters went on public display for the first time yesterday at the Herakleidon Museum, a private museum in Athens. The organisers of the exhibition are in talks with a number of London galleries about bringing them to Britain next year.

Scholars are split over whether the plasters are genuine. If they are, they would represent the purest record of Degas’s sculptural powers in existence. Excitement centres on the claim that these plasters were made during Degas’s lifetime. They correspond to the 74 Degas wax sculptures found intact in his apartments after his death in 1917 and cast and recast since then.

Read the rest of the story on TimesOnline