Nearly a quarter of the subjects sculpted by Degas show women in their bathrooms. Here, the painter of modern life has taken a fresh look at a bathing scene, which so inspired the artists of the Renaissance. In technical terms, The Tub solves the problem of fitting a figure into a circle, a puzzle which goes back to the beginnings of art. It also anticipates the avant-garde in its assembly: in the original wax model, which is in the National Gallery, Washington, and which this bronze figure reproduces, the tub is made from a sheet of zinc, with a fine layer of plaster in the bottom to suggest water. The base is draped with coated rags, which Degas described to his friend, the sculptor Albert Bartholomé, on 13th June 1889: "I have done a lot of work on the little wax model. I have made it a base from cloths dipped in roughly mixed plaster." He talked about the work as early as 1888: "I have not yet done enough horses. The women will have to wait in their tubs". We therefore have a dated sculpture, which is rare for Degas.

This "distant" artist, who sculpted for his own satisfaction, told Thiebault-Sisson in 1897: "Nobody will see these essays, nobody will talk about them [...] Before I die they will all be destroyed and it will be all the better for my reputation." But after Degas's death on 27th September 1917, seventy-three original wax models were saved from the one hundred and fifty found in his studio. On 13th May 1918, a contract was signed between the artist's heirs and the founder Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard. His furnace foreman, Albino Palazzolo, astutely spared the original wax models by using wax copies taken from the bronze models. The full set of models is in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California. The Tub is one of the set which was cast in bronze, the "material for eternity" that Degas refused to use.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.

Scanned : Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)