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Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas
French, 1834–1917
Before the Race
c. 1882
The horses and jockeys in this painting are presented in a variety of different positions, waiting restlessly for the start of a race. Throughout his career, Degas explored the ways in which movement could be suggested in a still image. Before the Race was painted in the artist’s studio, from preparatory drawings, though its dazzling brushwork preserves the immediacy of a work painted outdoors. An avid horseman, Sterling Clark was undoubtedly attracted to this painting’s equestrian subject matter.
Image Caption
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Before the Race, c. 1882, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.557
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
10 1/2 x 13 3/4 in. (26.7 x 34.9 cm)
Frame: 18 x 21 3/16 x 2 in. (45.7 x 53.8 x 5.1 cm)
Object Number
1955.557
Acquisition
Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status
On View
Select Bibliography
Sophie Monneret.. Dictionnaire de l'Impressionnisme.. Paris: Editions Denoel.. Lafond, Paul. Degas. Paris: H. Floury, 1919. Paul Jamot.. Degas.. Paris: Editions de la Gazette des Beaux-Arts.. 1924.. Lemoisne, Paul-André. "A Propos d'une exposition récente." La Revue de l'Art 46 (JuneDecember 1924). Galeries Georges Petit: Exposition Degas: au profit de la Ligue franco-anglo-américaine contre le cancer : peintures, pastels et dessins, sculptures, eaux-fortes, lithographies et monotypes. Exhibition catalogue. Paris: Galeries Georges Petit, 1924. Paris: Galerie Paul Rosenberg.. Grands Maîtres du XIXe Siècle.. 1931.. Paris: Musée des Arts Decoratifs.. Le decor de la vie sous la IIIe République.. 1933.. Mauclair, Camille. Degas. Paris: Editions Hypérion, 1937. Paris: Musée de l'Orangerie.. Degas.. 1937.. Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son oeuvre. Les Artistes et leurs oeuvres, études et documents. Paris: P. Brame et C. M. de Hauke, 1946. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Five: French Paintings of the 19th Century. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1956. . "A Basement full of Beauties.". vol. 42, no. 5.. Life.. Feb. 5, 1957.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Ten: Degas. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1959. Daulte, François. "Des Renoir et des chevaux." Connaissance des Arts 103 (September 1960): 26–38. London: The New Burlington Gallery.. Masters of French 19th Century Painting.. October 1963.. New York: Wildenstein & Co.. Degas's Racing World, March 21-April 27, 1968. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Edgar Degas (1834-1917). Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Minervino, Fiorella, and Franco Russoli. L'Opera completa di Degas. Milan: Rizzoli, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Dunlop, Ian. Degas. New York: Harper & Row; London: Thames & Hudson, 1979. Sophie Monneret.. L'Impressionnisme et son époque.. Paris: Denoël.. 1980.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.. Never Say Die. May 17-Sept. 14, 1980. Essay by David S. Brooke for brochure, "Three Cheers for the Twenty-Fifth." James M. Carpenter.. Visual Art: A Critical Introduction.. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.. 1982.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Brooke, David S. "Robert Sterling Clark and the Clark Art Institute." Laurels 56, no. 3 (Winter 198586): 137–48. Fernandez, Rafael, and Alexandra R. Murphy. Degas in the Clark Collection. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1987. Grand Palais, Paris.. Degas. Feb. 9-May 16, 1988; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, June 16-Aug. 28, 1988; Metropolitan Museum, New York, Sept. 27, 1988-Jan. 8, 1989. Gordon, Robert and Andrew Forge. Degas. New York: Abrams, 1988. Deborah Schneider.. "Edgar Degas: A Perennial Theme.". vol. 4.. Equine Images.. (Summer 1989).. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Kendall, Richard. Degas Landscapes. London: Yale University Press. 1994. George Shackelford.. Edgar Degas. Tiny folio.. New York: Abbeville Press.. 1996.. Washington (DC): National Gallery of Art. Degas at the Races. (Cat. by Jean Boggs).. April 12-July 12, 1998.. O'Brien, Maureen C. Edgar Degas: Six Friends at Dieppe. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Septmeber 17, 2005- January 15, 2006. Providence: Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. 2005. Dumas, Ann, Richard Kendall, Flemming Friborg, and Line Clausen Pedersen. Edgar Degas: The Last Landscapes. Exhibition catalogue. London and New York: Merrell Publishing Company; and Columbus, OH: Columbus Museum of Art, 2006. Kahng, Eik ed. The Repeating Image: Multiples in French Painting from David to Matisse. Masterpieces. The Walters Art Museum, October 7, 2007- January 1, 2008; Phoenix Art Museum, January 20- May 4, 2008. Baltimore: The Walters Art Museum distributed by Yale University Press. 2007. Ganz, James A. and Richard R. Brettell. Great French Paintings from the Clark: Barbizon through Impressionism. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications; Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2011. Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012.
Provenance
The artist, sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris, 10-12 Dec. 1882, as Le départ; [Durand-Ruel, Paris, sold to Lerolle, 10 Jan. 1883]; Henry Lerolle, Paris (1883–d. 1929); Madeleine Lerolle, Paris, his wife, by descent (1929–until at least 1936); [Hector Brame, Paris, by 1937, sold to Durand-Ruel 3 June 1937, as Chevaux de courses]; [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1937–39, sold to Clark 6 or 15 June 1939];¹ Robert Sterling Clark (1939–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.
1. There are two invoices from Durand-Ruel to Clark that list this painting, one dated 22 Nov. 1938, the other dated 26 June 1939 and annotated “received payment.” The date “6 or 15 June 1939” is cited in Jean Sutherland Boggs, Degas, exhibition catalogue, 1988, p. 403, and is presumably based on information from the Durand-Ruel archives.