Edgar Degas, a French impressionist painter working in the nineteenth century, has numerous artworks to his name. Looking through his catalog, one may easily see a very distinct theme within his artwork. Dance, specifically the Ballet and all of its innerworkings. From the hard work in the rehearsal room, to the beauty and grace of the production, Degas has revealed this world through his work. It is clear through Degas' career there seemed to be a passion for the Ballet as a subject for his impressionist paintings. Degas brings the movement and grit of the ballet to life through the way that he paints. There is a camaraderie found through the focus and labor the dancers endure to perform beauty on the stage as well as the focus and labor that Degas puts into the canvas to capture these scenes. However, there is a darker side to the Paris Opera Ballet where degas spends so much of his time painting these dancers. Unlike our modern expectation of what a ballerina's life would be like, these ballet dancers were working class girls who were also prostitutes. They were known as “opera rats” and did not live the glamorous life that one may typically associate with the ballet. Degas’ paintings include small details that reveal some of the darkness and truth that comes with the beauty of the ballet.
Edgar Degas, The Dancing Class, 1870
Oil on wood
7 3/4 x 10 5/8 in.
MET Accession Number: 29.100.184
This is Degas' earliest dance painting. This painting of a dance class takes place in his studio with dancers coming in and posing for the work. He did not yet have access to dancers in their natural habitat, therefore the scene is positioned differently. Rather than being a lens into a dance class, it is more of a portrait of a dance class. The subject of this painting is directly in the center, posed as if about to dance. Around the perimeter of the room are other dancers leaning on the barre or piano, but these girls are not the main focus. Because this piece was not taken from the actual Paris Opera House, the surrounding context to the ballet world is not as prevalent as it becomes in his later paintings. This work provides reference for later paintings that do include some elements of the surrounding world.
Edgar Degas, The Ballet from “Robert le Diable” ,1871 Oil on canvas
26 x 21 3/8 in.
MET Accession Number: 29.100.552
While the ballet is still important to this piece, it is done from an audience perspective rather than backstage or in a rehearsal. Interestingly, Degas chooses to include the spectators sitting in front of him, not paying attention to the ballet. Instead of being focused on, the dancers are a blur in the background. We can tell it’s a ballet from the title and context, but they are not the central figures of this work. Degas' point of view is clearly interested in the ballet on the stage while the other spectators are not, but does not put the focus on the dancers themselves, rather the opera as a whole. These spectators would have likely been of a higher class while those performing on the stage were more working class. This painting depicts the difference between classes through the men that do not care about the work the dancers are doing onstage. The fact that these are all men may point to the fact that they are not there for the actual performance at all.
Edgar Degas, The Dance Class , 1874
Oil on canvas
73 x 54 7/8 in.
MET Accession Number: 1987.47.1
This piece is one of Degas’ more well known ballet paintings. This particular work portrays young girls during a ballet examination, accompanied by older women in the background, and the ballet master observing. Degas paints this class in motion, but the motion is not only coming from the actual dancing happening in the background of the painting, but also the dancers in the foreground busying themselves with various activities while preparing to dance. The older women in this painting have been believed to be the girls' mothers, but more likely would be women who would sell these dancers as prostitutes. The presence of them reminds viewers of what the reality was for ballet dancers in this time period.
Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage ,1874
Oil colors freely mixed with turpentine, with traces of watercolor and pastel over pen-and-ink drawing on cream-colored wove paper, laid down on bristol board and mounted on canvas
21 3/8 x 28 3/4 in.
MET Accession Number: 29.160.26
In this painting, Degas uses a new setting for the ballet rehearsal. These dancers are on the Stage of the Paris Opera Ballet. This painting seems to be done from the wings of the stage. The painting has a frantic air about it, the dancers seem to be focused preparing for a performance while musicians lounge in the background awaiting instruction from the director in the center of the painting. The dancers who are actively dancing are again in the background while Degas decides to focus more intently on the dancer sitting down fixing her hair. She is the primary focus of the piece. A cello makes another appearance in the foreground on the painting, but most of it is cropped out which gives it a photograph-like quality. The dancers in this piece seem to have individuality, each making distinct expressions and in differing poses. While there are many things going on in this piece, the presence of men waiting backstage to be escorted by one of these dancers must be noted. Since that was an expectation, they become part of the whole “dance” of the opera.
Edgar Degas, Dancers, Pink and Green, 1890
Oil on Canvas
32 3/8 x 29 3/4 in.
MET Accession Number: 29.100.42
This painting depicts the dancers backstage during a performance. While Degas works very hard on this painting, seen through the thick layers of paint on this canvas, he later goes back to add the man standing backstage with the dancers. This addition points again to a norm for these dancers, they were a spectacle that was available to those of higher class. The foreboding figure just barely in view changes the whole tone of the scene to something that should be celebratory to something more sinister.
Edgar Degas, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer 1922 (cast), 2018 (tutu)
Partially tinted bronze, cotton tarlatan, silk satin, and wood
(97.8 x 43.8 x 36.5 cm)
MET Accession Number: 29.100.370
The last piece is a sculpture by Degas of a dancer. Degas strips away all of the other aspects of the ballet world and simply presents the dancer in her body. This young girl looks like she could be taken out of any Degas ballet painting, but Degas removes her entirely from the canvas. She is put into a different context and made into a full figure with a true ballet outfit. The girl is in an active ballet pose, her body is working as if she is in a performance. Degas displays his appreciation for the grit and work required to be in the ballet through his attention to truth and detail of the dancer's working body. By removing the subject from the rest of the context in which she worked, her form is given more appreciation.
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