It was not until after Degas’s death in 1917 that some 150 small wax figures, executed primarily between 1900 and 1910, were discovered in his studio. The bodies look as if they had been kneaded; they in no way adhere to the professional techniques associated with sculpture. In these rough, fresh works that go beyond all traditional boundaries, Degas captured the unclothed female dancers as they struggled to keep their balance, in the moment of instability and tottering. Only some of the wax models were sufficiently intact to be cast in bronze. After a single, devastating experience with presenting a plastic work in 1881, the artist had gone on sculpting only in private.