Before the Race
c. 1887–89
Medium
pastel with charcoal underdrawing on tracing paper mounted on cardboard
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.575,"width":0.654}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr.
Accession Number
1958.27
Tags
About this artwork
Degas returned to the theme of horse and rider time and again throughout his career. Scholars believe that he executed the first version of this composition of four jockeys on horseback in a charcoal and pastel drawing. Several years later, he traced the composition, reversing its orientation to create the highly finished Cleveland pastel. The palette is intensified, the distance between the second and third jockeys is increased, and the foliage along the horizon has been added to suggest a lush...