211

Edgar Degas and George Thornley

Le Chanson du chien.

Lithograph on Chine appliqué on light brown wove support sheet, circa 1888-89.
Edition of 100. Printed by Atelier Becquet, Paris. Published by Boussod-Valadon, Paris. From Quinze Lithographies d'après Degas. Reed/Shapiro 25b.
Image: 9 1/2 x 8 in. (24.1 x 20.3 cm.), wide margins.

  • Notes:
    Degas was likely influenced to work with the lithographer Thornley by Theo Van Gogh, the influential director of the Boussod-Valadon Gallery, because of Thornley's masterful lithographic interpretations of drawings by Puvis de Chavannes. By 1888, Degas and Thornley were working together to produce a portfolio of 15 lithographs based on drawings by Degas. The portfolio was issued in 1889 in an edition of 100, plus an additional 25 copies with each of the prints signed by both artists.

    Le Chanson du chien depicts Thérésa (born Emma Valadon), a famous performer at the café-concerts of Paris. Here she sings a song about a dog imitating the animal by holding her arms outstretched like paws. Degas made a group of studies of Thérésa performing, the culmination of which was a fully developed gouache and pastel over monotype that served as the source for this work. In addition to Thornley's rendering of this work in the Quinze Lithographies portfolio, Degas made his own lithographic version (see Reed/Shapiro 25) of this composition with sketch-like handling compared to Thornley's literal translation.
  • Condition:
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October 30, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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