Marie van Goethem
Between 1878 and 1881, Degas drew, painted and sculpted Marie in artworks including "Dancer with Fan", "Dancing Lesson", "Dancer Resting", numerous preparatory sketches, and most famously in "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years". He frequently attended ballet performances at the Paris Opera and often observed classes at the dance school. By posing for Degas, Marie likely earned five to six francs per four-hour sitting.
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
Art historian Richard Kendall published a scholarly account of the history of Degas's sculpture, "Degas and the Little Dancer", with contributions by Douglas Druick and Arthur Beale. The BBC Two documentary "The Private Life of a Masterpiece: Little Dancer Aged Fourteen", produced in 2004, closely examines the sculpture, the model, the circumstances of her life, and the critical reaction to the work. Cathy Marie Buchanan's novel, "The Painted Girls", presents a fictionalised account of the life of Marie van Goethem, the model for the sculpture, as does Carolyn Meyer's young adult novel "Marie, Dancing" and Laurence Anholt's children's picture book "Degas and the Little Dancer". In 2014, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. premiered the stage musical, "Little Dancer", inspired by the story of the young ballerina immortalized by Edgar Degas in his famous sculpture. On September 12, 2016, Dr. Gregory Hedberg presented a paper entitled "Unraveling the Mysteries of Degas’ "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen"," at the French Institute, Alliance Français, in New York City.