Once considered an ugly duckling when it first debuted in 1881, and now one of the most celebrated sculptures in the history of Western art, Degas’ Little Dancer Age Fourteen will command center state as an exclusive addition to the exhibition, Once upon a Time… Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark, opening at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) on October 13.

At the request of the MMFA’s Director and Chief Curator Nathalie Bondil, the Montreal presentation of the Clark’s travelling exhibition of French Impressionist masterpieces will feature this remarkable exhibition addition exclusively for Montreal of the earliest bronze versions cast by Hébrard (the 4th numbered D cast between 1922 and 1926). In Montreal, the Little Dancer  will be on view with 73 exceptional Impressionist paintings including works by Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Millet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir (21 paintings), Sisley and Toulouse-Lautrec, among others.

“Paradoxically, this sculpture is now considered the archetype of a graceful ballerina,” said Nathalie Bondil. “And yet this utterly revolutionary piece was completely misunderstood at first. In addition to the scandalous realism achieved by his extraordinary use of real clothing, it was exhibited by Degas in 1881 in a showcase, like a specimen in the zoological museum of contemporary Paris! Because of her arrogant pose, this ‘flower of the gutter’ was seen as an abominable depiction of the vice that took many of the very poor to their graves. Like Renoir, Whistler and Huysmans, few art lovers appreciated it, save for a new elite of American collectors who were the first to understand the modernism of this contemporary art.”

The only sculpture ever exhibited by Degas, Little Dancer was unveiled at the Impressionist exhibition of 1881. Fitted with real hair, wearing a bodice and tutu and real ballet shoes, this fragile polychrome-wax sculpture challenged ideas at the time about beauty and sculpture. Stunned visitors and shocked critics violently accused the artist of giving the girl a bestial look. After Degas' death, his heirs decided to make bronze casts of the wax original at the Hébrard foundry in Paris from 1920 until the mid-20th century.