Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A rare exhibit of 74 bronze sculptures by French painter Edgar Degas opened Thursday at Sofia's National Art Gallery, the first ever in Bulgaria of the Impressionist artist's work.
The exhibit, which includes a copy of Degas's famous "The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen," presents a complete set of all 74 sculptures that Degas originally carved out of wax, clay and plastiline and which were later cast in bronze by his family, US curator Walter Maibaum said.
The exposition's stop in Sofia is the third after Athens last November and Tel Aviv in March, he said. It runs until October 29.
Famous for his Impressionist paintings of dancers, Degas was also interested in movement as a sculptor, choosing dancing figures and prancing or trotting horses as his subjects.
But none of his sculptures was displayed in public before his death in 1917 with the exception of "The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen."
The wax figure - wearing a real bodice, stockings, shoes, a tulle skirt, and a horsehair wig with a satin ribbon - drew fierce criticism from Degas's contemporaries for its rough realism.
It was only after his death that about 150 wax or plastiline sculptures were found in his studio.
Nearly all had reached various stages of deterioration and the artist's family decided to cast copies of 74 of them in order to preserve them. Some 29 reproductions were made on average of each of these sculptures, according to Maibaum.
Apart from the collection on display in Sofia, which is entirely owned by US foundation the M.T. Abraham Center for the Visual Arts, only four museums in the world possess an almost complete set of Degas bronze sculptures, with only one or two of the 74 figures missing, Maibaum said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments