Why was Little Dancer Aged Fourteen controversial when it was exhibited?

Edgar Degas's sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (1878–81) was controversial when it was exhibited at the 1881 Impressionist exhibition because it pushed the boundaries of visual realism to new extremes.

Rather than relying solely on traditional sculptural materials, Degas incorporated unconventional, lifelike elements into the work, including:

• An actual reduced-scale tutu
• Real ballet slippers
• A human-hair wig
• A silk ribbon

By combining these tangible, everyday objects with his wax figure, Degas created a work that felt startlingly real to contemporary viewers, challenging established artistic conventions regarding how a sculpture should be constructed and presented.1