Degas focused on dancers not only because he found the dancers lives fascinating, but because they expressed what life was like for artists. The petits rats as they practiced served as a physical and relatable representation of the hardships artists like Degas were facing as they worked to create art. Both dancers and artists spend years dedicated to perfecting their craft for little to no reward. Few are successful, many have no other options, but those who make it make it look effortless. Degas saw the young dancers as a way to show the process behind the perfect ballet performances and ultimately behind his art.
Edgar Degas, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancers, 1922, partially tinted bronze, cotton tarlatan, satin, silk, and wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art 29.100.370
Degas' Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer is one of the few sculptures Degas showed during his lifetime. The little girl was originally made of fragile wax, clay, and had a real horsehair wig. Degas did not make her to last. The little girl's thrown back shoulders and sullen face capture the strain and hard life of a dancer. Degas is able to draw attention to the harsh realities behind ballet that many did not want to admit. His little dancer is a great reminder of how much work goes into being a dancer and how physically taxing it is. This little girl with her tutu and white bow express the amount of work and dedication dancers give for a few effortless performances. This once temporary statue shows how taxing and short-lived a dancer's performing life is.
Edgar Degas, Dancers Practicing at the Barre, 1877, mixed media on canvas,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 29.100.34
The Dancers Practicing at the Barre captures an everyday moment of two young dances practicing. The yellows and cool browns in the painting create this almost audible buzz that sounds like a quiet piano in the background. The small watering can in the left corner seems to be mimicking the shape of the far right dancer. This painting captures the everyday monotony of perfecting one's craft. These tow dancer's legs are a little off because Degas used a series of different sketches to create this painting. The vast floor invites the viewer to enter into the space without overwhelming it. Degas does a great job capturing the endless labor young dancers put into their craft, just like the endless sketches artist make to perfect their own craft.
Edgar Degas, Two Ballet Dancers, 1879, pastel and gouache on paper,
Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT 1972-69.6
Degas is also able to capture the physical strain of dancing on the young girls. In this painting, Two Ballet Dancers, the dancers seemed hunched over due to the hard practice they have just endured. The girl on the right seems to be rubbing her calves while the other is stretching out her leg. Both come across as exhausted and the left one looks like she is breathing deeply. Their hands seem to be slowly pulling them farther and farther down. This painting beautifully captures the toil and strain that comes with dance.
Edgar Degas, Dancer in Her Dressing Room, 1879, pastel and peinture à l’essence on canvas,
Cincinnati Art Museum 1956.114
Dance in Her Dressing Room is a very colorful painting with the bright blue and yellow wall and the stark white tutu of the dancer. The yellow bodice with the little blue flower stems on the front is a clever opposite to the walls. The dancer's stern face expresses the serious moment as she prepares most likely for a very important performance. She seems set on perfect performance and is making sure everything is just right as she fidgets with her hair. The thin width of the painting and careful cropping adds to the atmosphere of this small dressing room which seems lit by one light. The red fabric on the floor seems to suggest that she was anxiously trying to decide exactly what to wear. This adds to the intensity of the piece and the nerves of the dancer as she finishes getting ready for her performance.
Edgar Degas, Waiting (L'Attente), 1882, pastel on paper,
The J. Paul Getty Museum 83.GG.219
In Degas' painting Waiting, he is able to capture the stress of ballet exams. Around the age of 10 or 11, young dancers would perform alone on stage with just a pianist before a jury who will decide whether or not to promote her. That exam determines the rest of her career. Degas beautifully captures the stress of the young dancer and her chaperone waiting for the results. The way they are both hunched over and aimlessly staring off into the distance adds to the stress. Unlike Two Ballet Dancers, these two come across as intense. While that chaperone seems to be staring deeply inter her umbrella, the young girl is absentmindedly touching her ankle which makes the reality of the piece more relatable. Rather than just a girl waiting, Degas paints a specific girl waiting to learn her fate which heightens the reality and angst in the drawing.
Edgar Degas, Ballet at the Paris Opéra, 1877, pastel over monotype on cream laid paper,
Art Institute of Chicago 1981.12
Degas' pastel drawing Ballet at the Paris Opéra is a very wide drawing which creates an intimate scene. Degas cuts off most of the orchestra except for the tops of the musicians' heads and the decorative scrolls at the top of the cellos in the bottom right corner. This is a dress rehearsal because all the girls have their hair down and the two in front in the middle seem to be whispering. The light pink costumes against the darker green background make the line of dancing girls on the left seem to float across the stage. The other line to the right is watching, and one girl farther back on the stage seems to be running through her steps with her leg pointing out between the two cellos. They are doing their final practicing and perfecting of their parts before their performance making sure it is perfect.
Edgar Degas, Dancers in Pink, 1876, oil on canvas,
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT
Here in Dancers in Pink, there is a group of girls in matching dresses on the sides of the stage preparing to perform. In the top, far left corner are other dancers in blue costumes also waiting for their cure to enter. The girls in blue seem to be behind a green painting wet which goes all around the stage. The girls all seem to be nervously fidgeting as the closest girl on the right is fixing her tights and the girl behind her is fixing her earring. while the girl to the left of them is messing with her hair. The light green background next to the bright pink costumes creates this feeling of anticipation and nervous excitement that dancers are experiencing all they wait. these girls have dedicated so much time to this performance and now are just waiting to show the audience what they are capable of.
Edgar Degas, The Star, 1876-1878, pastel over ink monotype on laid paper,
Philadelphia Museum of Art 1978-1-50
The Star captures the moment the dancers have been working towards. All of their hard work and dedication has lead to this one performance. The way Degas has there spall dancers in the background and the foot of one dancer in the top right corner helps create this intimate moment between the viewer and the dancer. Degas use of pastel over the top of his print creates a sense of movement and effortlessness. The dancer pirouetting has her right arm reaching out as if to invite the viewer in. The pale pink dress against the dark green background makes the dancer float. Everything has led up to this moment, and this dancer is holding nothing back. She is softly smiling as if she knows it was all worth it. Degs cropping suggests that he too know this is her best performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment