Degas sketched young women training for ten years, he then reused the sketches for new artworks during the next forty years. The early rehearsal scenes were done in oil, changing to pastels for his dancers, nudes and horse-track scenes in 1878. Degas' artwork attempted to catch the action of the moment. In this sculpture the dancer is in a moment of rest as she waits. We are fortunate to have this masterful reproduction of Degas famous oil pastel, L'Attente (Waiting 1882), because it adds a new dimension to our understanding of his artistry.
