# Young Spartans Exercising [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DEGAS, Edgar]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 109 x 155 cm ## Commentary Young Spartans Exercising c. 1860 Oil on canvas, 109 x 155 cm National Gallery, London Beside portraiture, Degas's early work was also centred on historical themes drawn from religious tradition or mythology. Between 1860 and 1865 he painted five historical paintings, for which there are several sketches and versions: Young Spartans Exercising, Semiramis Founding a City, Alexander and Bucephalus, Jephthah's Daughter, and The Sufferings of the City of New Orleans, the latter being his first entry at the Salon. These paintings are very original and unlike any historical painting in the nineteenth century. They conformed to the rules of classicist composition, but they were also innovative because of the freshness of his figures and the warm colours of his landscapes. The Young Spartans Exercising was reworked several times, and numerous related drawings and studies survive. ## Related artworks - [A Ballet Dancer in Position]() - [Absinthe Drinkers]() - [After the Bath]() - [After the Bath. Woman Drying Herself]() - [At the Beach]() - [At the Café des Ambassadeurs]() - [At the Milliner's]() - [At the Milliner's]() - [At the Mirror]() - [At the Races in the Countryside]() - [Aux Ambassadeurs: Mademoiselle Bécat]() - [Ballerina with a Bouquet, Curtsying]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()