  About the Artwork
  
  
  Although significant in its own right as a masterful work of art, it is not inappropriate to think of this drawing as a reference tool for Degas. Degas's working method was complex and frequently unfathomable. In his studio he maintained a stock of hundreds of sketches and studies. When planning compositions, it was not unusual for Degas to combine newly composed studies with earlier ones, such 
as this dancer who appears In several of Degas's paintings.
  
  
  Title
  Ballet Dancer Adjusting her Costume
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1872 or 1873
  
  Artist
  Edgar Degas
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1834-1917
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Graphite pencil heightened with white on pink paper
  
  
  Dimensions
  Sheet: 16 9/16 × 10 5/8 inches (42.1 × 27 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Drawings
  
  
  Department
  Prints, Drawings &amp; Photographs
  
  
  Credit
  Bequest of John S. Newberry
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  65.145
  
  
  Copyright
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