Appraiser Workshops: Degas Bronzes and Plasters Remain in Attribution Limbo

6/02/2012

Degas Bronzes and Plasters Remain in Attribution Limbo

The Art Newspaper has a good article on the continued debate over the authenticity of recently discovered Degas plaster casts and the bronzes made from them. According to the Art Newspaper many Degas scholars passed on the opportunity to discuss the plasters and bronzes at a seminar at the Hermitage.

Many scholars sited employee/museum restrictions on authentication and attribution. The legal complications of authentication and attribution are great, and scholars are being cautious with what they say in fear of legal proceedings. It appears the Hermitage was interested in purchasing some of the newly cast bronzes and held the symposium to discuss them. The debate rages on, as some question if the plasters were made after World War II or were made closer to Degas lifetime.

The Art Newspaper reports

The obscure terms in which the discussion has been couched are illustrated in the recent “Edgar Degas Sculpture” catalogue published by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. In a footnote, it says that the new casts “are intentionally not included”, without further explanation. In the April issue of the Burlington magazine, Richard Kendall merely notes that the recent bronzes have created a “note of uncertainty”. Avoiding giving his personal view, he simply states that “they have failed to sway the Degas specialists and the major auction houses”.

The Hermitage seminar raised further issues. It was initiated after an approach by the M.T. Abraham Center for the Visual Arts, Paris, which owns two sets of the 74 bronzes. The centre suggested an exhibition at the Hermitage, but the museum did not want to proceed until there was a scholarly discussion. Initially, it was thought that the foundation might be sponsoring the colloquium, but it was soon realised that this could be seen as prejudicial. The centre’s director, Amir Kabiri, tells The Art Newspaper that he is not funding the meeting, although when asked about possible future donations, he said that he would “always be honoured to co-operate with the Hermitage”.

After the scholarly boycott, the Degas plasters and the resulting bronzes remain in limbo. It is now clear that they are not late 20th-century fakes, but the key question is when they were made.

Source: The Art Newspaper