L is for Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

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'Little Dancer of Fourteen Years' is my entry for L today. I have always loved Edgar Degas' dancer paintings but then when the children were little I came across this book,

'Degas and the Little Dancer' by Laurence Anhalt, that takes the statue and creates a background story of the young ballet dancer who poses for the artist to help pay for her ballet lessons. It was lovely to find stories that also want to interest children in art. 

The sculpture itself is quite unique, being sculpted in wax and wearing a real tutu and slippers and with real hair. After his death many copies were cast in bronze and are on display in museums all over the world. 

(Linking back to the A to Z Challenge)