Discover Degas & Miss La La

Degass painting of Miss La La, a biracial circus performer, is one of only two paintings by the artist representing people of color. This book explores the sitter's identity, presenting new research on her life and career, and analyzing the genesis of Degass work. It also examines the artist's complex attitudes to ethnicity in relation to his own family background and the representation of multiracial people in late nineteenth-century France.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 136 pages
Publication date: 04 June 2024
Publisher: National Gallery Company Ltd

  National Gallery,Washington,D.C. (October 10,2024–January 12,2025)   The extraordinary story behind Degass groundbreaking painting of the biracial circus performer Miss La La is revealed in this first-ever in-depth study. Miss La La, born Anna Olga Brown to a white Prussian mother and an African-American emancipated slave father, was a renowned performer of extraordinary daring in fin-de-siècle Paris. This book presents new research on her life and career, as well as unpublished photographic material tracing her tour across Europe. It also analyzes the genesis of Degass work, from his rapid sketches completed on the spot to his more elaborate preparatory drawings and pastels. The son of a Creole mother from New Orleans, Degas travelled to Louisiana in 1872–73, which had a lasting impact on his art. This book examines the artists complex attitudes to ethnicity in relation to his own family background and the representation of multiracial people in late nineteenth-century France. Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press, the exhibition schedule includes the National Gallery, London (June 6–September 1, 2024) and the National Gallery, Washington, D.C. (October 10, 2024–January 12, 2025).

Weight: 596g
Dimension: 211 x 250 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781857097146