The Little Dancer at The Great Wall

Oil on Canvas 120 cm x 95 cm

Sold

Always good to be able to post a finished painting.

I wanted to make a dramatic statement that relates to the tragedy of the building of the Great Wall, which was constructed on the Northern border of China in the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of men died making this wall, and it was unsuccessful in stopping the nomadic tribes from invading. I found it sad and beautiful.

Within this setting I have put the  'Little Dancer of Fourteen Years', a bronze sculpture by Edward Degas. It is a subjective link that pulls this great desolate garrison into the civilised world of French Art, or takes the little dancer to impossibly far corners of the earth.

I previous posts I have shown the original sketch and early photos of this work.