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exhibitions^ 14-20 Oct 2017 guide^34

Anatomy of an artwork Degas’ Combing the Hair (Le Coiff ure), 1896

Royal Fabergé Norwich

Nothing represents the lavish

excesses of the tsars quite like

the tiny bejewelled marvels Peter

Carl Fabergé created for them

and their wealthy aristocratic

cohort. However, after the

Romanovs were executed in 1918,

the treasures made in Russia

that weren’t melted down were

largely sold abroad. This show,

hooked to the anniversary of the

Russian Revolution, lifts the lid,

not on Tsar Nicholas II’s boxes

of goodies  but the commissions

of his aunt and uncle, Queen

Alexandra and Edward VI. These

eggs were only made for elite

patrons and not promoted to a

wider public. Animal creations

include a silver Persimmon, the

racehorse whose winnings helped

fund the Sandringham estate. The

highlight is surely the Fabergé egg

from which a basket of daisies,

poppies, pansies and cornflowers

blooms like a miniature meadow,

each leaf exacting in its realism.

Skye Sherwin

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts,

Sat to 11 Feb

Modern life

Edgar Degas was

a chronicler of the

metropolis, from

its public hurly

burly to what went

on behind closed

doors. Ballet

dancers, racehorses

and prostitutes rank

among his subjects.

This painting

represents one of

his later passions:

human hair.

Bad hair day

Fast paint in an

uncomfortable red

and striking black

lines articulate this

unsettling scene:

a young woman

with her locks

pulled by a comb,

wielded by another

woman. The curtain

suggests theatre,

a drama that we

fl eetingly glimpse.

Those tresses

seem almost

bestial, heavy

and cumbersome.

To touch it is a

physical intrusion.

Mystery girl

Degas takes his

viewers into

hidden worlds,

into bathrooms,

boudoirs or

backstage at the

ballet. However,

his approach is far

from tell-all. “There

must always be

some mystery left,”

he said. Here we

are left to guess at

the relationship: is

this a maid, mother

or madam?

Hot head

Hair was especially

hot erotic property

in the 19th century

and, apparently,

Degas combed his

models’ hair for

hours. Once he

made a written

request to watch

Bizet’s wife

Genevieve let her

hair down. SS

Drawn in Colour:

Degas from the

Burrell, National

Gallery, WC2, to

7 May

Brush with

greatness

Degas’

mysterious

hair-care scene

NATIONAL GALLERY PHOTOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT