Comparative Study

Henrique Montesanti

Little Dancer of 14 Years, this one and only sculpture created by the renowned
artist Edgar Degas in 1881, is his only sculpture exhibited during his
lifetime.Today, his piece is seen as a remarkable sculpture, and is paraded
around the world. Little Dancer of 14 Years is also known as Marie Van
Goethem, a French Ballet student and dancer with the Paris Opera Baller, but was
known for being Degas model for this piece. This nearly life sized wax figure with
real hair and dressed in a cloth tutu, most of whom found its realism extraordinary
but denounced the dancer as ugly. During the time, Marie Van Goethem wasnt
seen as a member of the Parisian upper class, so his figure was looked with a
blind eye.

Little Dancer of 14 Years (1881)

Edgar Degas

Its Evident that the pose of the figure expresses a strong feeling of renewal, with
her head high, and arms back, we can see that Degas chose to express that she
wants to be seen as something other than a ballet dancer, but a member of
society. When looking at her pose, we can see the sense of renewal in her upper
body, as explained above, but we can also see that in her legs, he chose to
maintain her classical ballerina pose, showing that thought dance, she will be
able to achieve her dreams. The fact that Degas chose to put a real cloth Tutu
and hair onto the figure, makes Marie come back to life in modern day itself;
Maybe this is what puzzled the Parisian society, the fact that a simple ballet
dancer could suddenly become part of their society. Moreover, in the image, we
can see the way that all of the colours seem to blend in together. Her worn out
tutu, black hair, and the bronze like colour of her body all blend in, but the tow
pieces that stand out is her corset, which has a stronger, but faded gold, and the
white hair tie. This monotone part of her body really show the way that the lower
class were seen in society, as scrubs, and were often rewarded with leftovers of
the upper class. We can see pieces of the leftovers in the corset, where pieces of
gold still remain. The hair tie, which is located in the back of the figure, and
dangles a bit beyond the hair because of the elevated head, is an eye catching
factor of the piece, and when see from behind, leads the way to the lower part of
her body, giving a more sexual connotation to the piece. Degas, was known for
being a perverted artist, and his close time with the model could possibly indicate
sexual relations, and the white colour of the ribbon could symbols her purity.

Figures Concentrated on one side of the image

Long Strokes

Vibrant Colours

As mentioned previously, Degas spent most of his time at the

ballet and sketching, drawing, painting the dancers. He
focused much of his work on depicting dancers, he is
regarded as one of the founders of impressionism, although
he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist. He was
a superb draftsmen, and particularly masterly in depicting
movement, as can be seen in his retention of dancer.
Degas' sheer energy, his urge to capture fleeting movement
in its countless nuances resulted in a prodigious series of
paintings, pastels, monotypes, drawings and eventually wax
sculpture. Apart from the portraits it is almost impossible to
find a Degas where movement and action are not inherent,
yet his method was the exact opposite of the Impressionists.
He did not attempt to capture moment in a quick stroke of the
brush there is nothing impulsive about Degas. Everything is
studied, planed and executed in the studio in the controlled
conditions.
In the 1880s, when his eyesight began to fail, Degas began
increasingly to work in two new media that did not require
intense visual acuity: sculpture and pastel. In his sculpture,
as in his paintings, he attempted to catch the action of the
moment, and his ballet dancers and female nudes are
depicted in poses that make no attempt to conceal their
subjects' physical exertions.

Four Ballet Dancers on Stage

1885 - 1890
Oil on Canvas
Lack of Detail

His pastels are simple compositions containing only a few

figures. He was obliged to depend on vibrant colors and
meaningful gestures rather than on precise lines and careful
detailing, but, in spite of such limitations, these works are
eloquent and expressive and have a simple grandeur
unsurpassed by any of his other works.

Economist-turned-artist Sebastio Salgado began his

photography practice after his finance role with the International
Coffee Organization and the World Bank led him to travel to tea
plantations in Africa. Inspired by the people he photographed
during his trips, Salgado quit his finance job to continue traveling
and photographing the rest of the world and its inhabitants. His
works highlight global issues relating to nature, workers, and the
human condition, and while he believes that his photographs
alone will not be able to change the world, he can use them as a
vehicle for awareness coupled with larger movements for action.

Sebastio Salgado
Genesis Collection
Digital Photographs
2014

When looking at the composition of both images, we can see how

both images have a tendency to be more towards the sides. This
allows for there to be an interesting amount of negative space, that
gives the image a more abstract flow, that not only adds to the
intent of the image, but to its aesthetic components. The
composition of the top image really adds to the previous analysis
done, its evident that only one person in the vast array of the
dessert adds to his intent of looking at the way in which man can
live in harmony with nature. The second image however, also has
an interesting use of negative space, but Salgado worked with the
height of his subjects in order to create a juxtaposition of sizes. I
think that the second image really adds to the intent, and showing
a strong emotional tie, that connects directly with the audience,
which provokes the audience in a emotional way. When Salgado
put both images together in his book, we can see the way in which
he created a juxtaposition with them. With the first image being
free, and having a moment in which the modern human would
want to live with nature, but with the second image creating a
opposite thought. With the gentle pose of the children, with their
simple coats, show the poverty of the area, and the downsides of
living in harmony with nature.

Salgado's habitual monochrome runs all the way from coal black
to silver and burning white, with a thousand tones of grey in
between. The lighting is characteristically spectacular, with plenty
of backlighting and operatic contrasts. And the further one goes
through the show, the more significant the decision to photograph
the world in black and white becomes. Nothing can have absolute
or accidental priority in monochrome, nothing can leap out simply
by virtue of its colour. Black and white puts everything on equal
footing, on the same planet.
Salgado has often said his work is political. So it is, in a human
rights, save-the-planet kind of way. But his images have grown
quite neutral by contrast, as if showing the untouched world in a
democratic fashion, image by image, simply spoke for itself. This
principle has two adverse consequences. First, it means that there
always have to be hundreds of images: everything must be shown
or the democratic point is lost. But this has an opposing effect, for
the eye cannot sustain the same level of interest.
Both images adhere to this contrast. The simple way in which they
were composed, and the monochrome of the Black and White, not
only adds to the intent, but is meant to provoke its audience. This
intent is so strong that it provoked the photographer when he
started photographing. When he first left photography, he believed
that humanity was lost, and thought that by leaving his passion he
no longer had to see the problems of the world, but once he
returned to photography, he wanted to show the way in which the
world can live with nature, but yet provoking the thought of
poverty, hunger and misery. This shows the sacrifices that
humanity must make in order to live in harmony with nature.
Therefore provoking thought of his previous work, and adding it to
his new one.

Sebastio Salgado
Genesis Collection
Digital Photographs
2014

Degas

Salgado

French Artist born in 1834

Mostly worked with paintings,
pastels, etc
Liked to paint dancers
Went a lot to the ballet to paint
Liked to provoke the people of
France with his work
Worked with 3D work
Travelled to paint
Went blind towards the end of his
career
Major success with the French
High Society
Dead - in 1917

Artist

Born in Brazil
Started as an Economist
Quit photography mid - career
Photographs the way in which
man can live with nature
Controversial work
Works with Photography (Black
and White)
Several works published
Several Projects
Thousands of Pictures
Has been awarded many times
Worked in France for a long time
Major success, seen as one of
the biggest Brazilian
photographer
Still alive

Monotone

Gold & Silver dress

White ribbons on hair

juxtaposes with the

black hair

Black faded hair

Bronze in the skin

Highlights the simple and humble

pose of the subject
Reflection in the black legs

Strong Juxtaposition
Skirt with faded colours

Influence of time
The color contrast in between the gold
and black skin has a very strong
parallelism with the pose and white
ribbon, showing determination
Its 3 dimensional aspect contributed to
the colour as it shows that its not only in
the front, but the back, specially with the
white ribbon

Color

Strong bold vivid colours

Pink; Blue; Green; and their
variations
The blue & pink dress juxtapose
with each other, (composition)
The skin of the ballerinas blend in with the
colour of the dresses, suggesting their
fragility
The green from the trees above the
ballerinas juxtapose with their figures,
allowing the audience to clearly see them
The blue in the background is the same tone
as the blue in the dress, showing a balance
in colour
The dark green in the floor seem to blend in
with the skirts of the dresses, showing the
significance and the social significance of
the art form during the time
The skirts from the ballerinas blend in with
each other

Black and white

Top image is very well balance
Strong contrast between the sky and the clouds
Allowing for there to be a balance in between the contrast with the
subject and the foreground
Strong contrast in between the subjects and sky in the bottom image
A variation of black tones that contribute with the shadows and highlights
The top image, even thought seems balanced, is mostly focused towards the
left hand side, since the black part of the sky in concentrated right above the
subject

3D Figure
Depending on the perspective,
the figure still shows a strong
pose, it indicated:
Determination
Looking up
Vulnerability
Humble postion
Strong Juxtaposition in between
determination and vulnerability
Crossed legs
Arms leaned back
Chin up
This allows for a strong balance in
between these factors
The 360 degree aspect, allows for there to
be a balance in between the bold colours
that stand out
Gold in front (fades in the back) giving
space for the white ribbon to stand out

Composition

All of the subjects are located

on the right hand side of the
image
Balanced
The skirts fade bottom (middle)
The colours complement to the composition
of the image
Strong and old colours in the right, that
are also repeated in the background,
which allows for a subtle composition
The figure of the ballerinas all resemble to
each other, and the image from Sebastio
Salgado
Their pose suggest fragility
Very thin and gentle figures (traditional to
Paris in the 1800s)
In the upper right hand side, the ballerina in
the back has her hand up high, while the
ballerina in the front left has her arm
leaning down, giving a lot of balance to this
image

The image on top has a very strong composition

Contrast is balanced
Empty space allows the audience to focus on the subject
The pose of the subject is very abstract, allows for multiple meanings
Freedom in nature
Living in balance with nature (intent as an artist)
The variation of heights in the second image guides the reader to see this
image from right - to - left
Focus on the subject on the left of the image
The subject in the middle shows fragility, and the subject in the right has a
strong presence, showing a juxtaposition

Intended to be a piece to
challenge the French High
Society at the time of its creation
To be seen as a critique upon the
view of the way the French
society treated the Ballerinas
Often seen as inferior, and
even though the art form was
appreciated, the dancers
weren't accepted into society
Strong and determined pose shows the
way in which it affected the audience at
the time
This piece was different from his other
paintings, which intended to show the
pose and figure of the ballerina
As a strong advocate for the art form,
Degas chose use this piece to elevated
the dancers from the shadows
Based on the life of a real ballerina
Mix of beauty and brutality

Intention

Shows the pose of dancers

Fragility
Always captured their lives
Subjects mostly women
Challenged social classes
Captured the reality and not the artifice
Similar to the observation made in the
previous comparison, Degas usually liked to
shows the fragility and pose of the
ballerinas
The subjects in real life, would usually wash
clothes in the morning and dance at night,
this shows that this painting, which takes
pace during the day challenges the Parisian
audience of the time, to see this art form for
its beauty and not social class
There is definitely in influence of beauty and
brutality, this allows for the audience to see
how beautiful this art form is, and at the
same time its cost
Dignity (seen as cost)

Salgado always wants to show the way in which society can live in sync with
nature
Its clear how his images, balanced and well composed pass off this idea
In the first image, we can see how the image is composed to the left
hand side, allows there to be some controversy with his intention, and
the strong pose can suggest that this is a challenge to society
The bottom image shows us how the children are struggling to pass
through this dessert.
The composition really advocates against his intent as an artist
and shows us the struggles of living in sync with nature
As a social critique to out current society, Salgado uses his pictures to brutally
challenge his audience