Marcus Chen
Impressionist painter Edgar Degas is widely known for his paintings of ballet dancers. With over 1,500 art pieces depicting ballerinas, it was undoubtedly his preferred subject. Degas' paintings of dancers are renowned for their intimate and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the world of ballet. His works often depicted dancers backstage or in rehearsal, emphasising their status as professionals doing a job. Degas' unique style, meticulous attention to detail, and ability to capture the fluidity of movement have made his paintings, such as The Dance Class and Dancers in Blue, iconic representations of ballerinas.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Edgar Degas |
| Known as | Painter of Dancers, Impressionist |
| Artworks | Mlle. Fiocre in the Ballet La Source, The Dance Class, The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage, Dancers in Blue, Orchestra Musicians, The Star, The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen, La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans, Examen de Danse, Ballet (L’Etoile), Le foyer de la danse à l’Opéra de la rue Peletier, Standing Dancer Seen From Behind, The Dancer Jules Perrot, Dancer adjusting her strap, Two Dancers, Seated Dancer, Study of Legs |
| Art Style | Unfinished passages, strong lines, focus on shapes and movements, attention to detail, depiction of movement |
| Inspiration | Opera house Palais Garnier, dancers from lower-class backgrounds, old masters, Ingres, Delacroix, Daumier, Japanese prints, anti-Semitism |
| Contemporaries | Manet, Cassatt, Pissarro, Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Édouard Brandon, Renoir, Gustave Moreau, Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha |
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What You'll Learn
Edgar Degas: the painter of dancers
Edgar Degas is one of the most renowned artists of the 19th century, with his ballerinas remaining among the most popular images of that era. Degas was a superb draftsman, particularly skilled at capturing movement, as evidenced in his paintings of dancers, bathing female nudes, racehorses, and racing jockeys.
Degas' first foray into the world of dance came in 1868 with his painting "Mlle. Fiocre in the Ballet La Source", exhibited at the Salon of 1868. This work marked a shift in Degas' artistic style, as he moved away from historical paintings towards an observation of contemporary life. From 1870 onwards, Degas increasingly painted ballet subjects, partly due to their popularity and the financial stability they provided after his brother's debts left the family bankrupt.
Degas' paintings often depicted dancers backstage or in rehearsal, emphasising their status as professionals doing a job. His works captured the vibrant world of ballet in Paris during the Belle Époque, a time of peace and prosperity following the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Opera and ballet were an integral part of Parisian cultural life, and Degas was likely a frequent attendee long before he began to paint dancers.
Degas' style was influenced by his admiration for old masters like Ingres and Delacroix, as well as his collection of Japanese prints and the work of popular illustrators such as Daumier and Gavarni. His paintings often featured soft colours and whimsical portrayals of ballet dancers, evoking a sense of joyful voyeurism for the viewer. However, behind the glitz and glamour, there was a darker side to the world of ballet during this time. Many of the dancers, known affectionately as ""les petits rats" or "little rats," were as young as 14 and came from lower-class backgrounds, sometimes resorting to sex work to make ends meet.
Degas' obsession with dance and his unique perspective on the world of ballet have left an enduring legacy in the art world, with his ballerinas remaining some of the most iconic and revered images of the 19th century.
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Degas's style and influences
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas is a household name, famous for his whimsical Impressionist portrayals of ballet dancers. Degas was a French Impressionist artist renowned for his pastel drawings, oil paintings, bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. He played a fundamental role in shaping modern art and left an indelible mark on the art world.
In the early 1870s, Degas emerged from his deep involvement with classical art and began applying himself to painting modern Parisian life, particularly its people and horses in motion. This shift was influenced by Édouard Manet, whom Degas met in 1864, and his works inspired Degas to give up his academic aspirations and embrace Impressionism. Degas's friendship with several key Impressionist artists, including Mary Cassatt and Manet, further tied him to the Impressionist movement. However, Degas's preoccupation with draftsmanship and composition set him apart from other Impressionists, and his work sometimes veered towards classical and realist directions.
Degas was endlessly experimental, transcending the limitations of oil paint by revitalising neglected media such as pastel, gouache, and even distemper. He would mix pastel with liquid fixative to create a paste, layer pastel over charcoal drawings, and combine pastels and oil in a single work. He also innovated with monotypes, using etching in a new way to achieve strong contrasts of light and dark. This experimentation allowed him to obtain a richness of surface effects.
Degas's mature style is distinguished by conspicuously unfinished passages, which he attributed to his eye troubles, and his predilection for starting many projects without finishing them. His works frequently used interior sets as backdrops, focusing on the details of contemporary life. He was known for his attention to technical details and his use of unusual angles, such as cutting off figures and choosing unexpected ways of positioning them. This non-traditional use of perspective and composition allowed him to capture fleeting moments and impart a sense of movement, reflecting his obsession with light and colour.
Degas's ballet paintings, in particular, serve as a reminder to look beyond the surface. While they are beautiful, they also hint at a darker truth when viewed in the context of the French social scene at the time. Ballet dancers during the 1870s often came from lower-class backgrounds and resorted to sex work to make ends meet. Degas's paintings of dancers may suggest these underlying narratives of sex work and economic hardship beneath the surface glamour and youthful innocence.
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Degas's sculptures of dancers
Edgar Degas is a well-known artist associated with paintings of ballet dancers. Degas's mature style is distinguished by conspicuously unfinished passages, even in otherwise tightly rendered paintings. He was also a sculptor and created sculptures of dancers, bathers, and horses with jockeys. However, he only publicly exhibited one sculpture, titled "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen" or "The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer", which he debuted in 1881. The sculpture is two-thirds life-size and was originally made with wax, clay, rope, and paintbrushes around a metal armature. It was later cast in bronze.
Degas worked in a large fifth-floor studio in lower Montmartre, where visitors noticed stacks of paintings, musical instruments, and ballet shoes and tutus. He was fascinated by the depiction of movement and frequently painted dancers, including in works such as "The Dance Class" (1874) and "The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage" (1874). Opera and ballet were a fashionable part of Parisian cultural life at the time, and Degas was likely a frequent audience member before he began painting dancers.
Degas's sculpture "Little Dancer" depicts a young student of the Paris Opera Ballet dance school, a Belgian girl named Marie van Goethem. Critics were shocked by the sculpture when it was first exhibited, calling it ugly and repulsive. One critic, Paul Mantz, described the dancer as a "flower of precocious depravity". However, public opinion of the sculpture has changed over time, and it is now considered a beloved and iconic work.
Degas's ballet paintings and sculptures were influenced by his interest in movement and his surroundings in Parisian artistic and cultural life. He was also inspired by the work of his idol, Ingres, who painted dancing nymphs into his romantic tableaux. Degas's sculptures and paintings of dancers continue to captivate audiences and remain among the most popular images in 19th-century art.
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Ballet dancers in the Baroque period
Ballet and ballet dancers as we know them today did not exist in the Baroque period. However, Baroque dance, which is considered a precursor to classical ballet, was established and developed in France during the Baroque period, specifically at the court of Louis XIV (1643–1715). This style of dance, commonly known as the French noble style or belle danse (literally "beautiful dance"), was highly influential and spread throughout fashionable European society. French dancing masters were in high demand and employed at theatres and courts across the continent.
Baroque dance was closely linked with Baroque music, theatre, and opera. The surviving choreographies from the period are mostly English country dances, described in detail in publications such as Playford's "The Dancing Master". These publications provide information on the music, the number of dancers, the formation, and textual descriptions of the figures to be danced in relation to the musical bars or floor patterns. While there is only occasional indication of the steps used in these sources, other period writings, such as those of the French dancing-masters Feuillet and Lorin, indicate that more complicated steps were also employed.
The French noble style was danced at social events and by professional dancers in theatrical productions such as opera-ballets and court entertainments. The style is characterised by upright torsos and stylised arms that rest on an imaginary skirt or in front of the dancer. The floor patterns were intricate and required fast footwork and legwork, with heels slightly off the floor, allowing male dancers to display their well-defined calves. The neat structure of the choreographic patterns reflected the hierarchical order of the court, and the intense training required to master these dances served as a form of control over the subjects, helping to deter subversive plots.
While the specific steps and vocabulary of Baroque dance were incorporated into both social (ballroom) and theatrical dance, the style of executing these steps has evolved significantly over time. Today's ballet dancers will recognise many of the step names but perform them in a very different manner.
In terms of artists associated with painting ballet dancers, one notable example is Edgar Degas, who created numerous depictions of dancers in the late 19th century. However, his work falls outside the Baroque period, which ended around 1750.
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The dark side of Degas's ballet paintings
Edgar Degas is a household name, known for his whimsical Impressionist portrayals of ballet dancers. His paintings of dancers evoke a sense of joyful voyeurism, as if each viewer is sitting in the auditorium depicted. However, behind the glitz, glamour, and youthful innocence, there lies a darker truth.
Degas's ballet paintings offer a glimpse into the hidden world backstage. They reveal the intense rivalries, jealousy, and pressure to perform flawlessly that dancers faced. Degas captures the raw emotions and tensions that permeated the ballet community, exposing the human dramas unfolding behind the scenes. The life of a ballerina was often marked by financial hardship, exploitation, and emotional struggles. Many ballerinas lived in boarding houses, away from their families, and experienced a profound sense of loneliness.
Degas's paintings also highlight the power dynamics and unrealistic body standards imposed on ballerinas during his time. The dancers, often called "les petits rats" or little rats, were as young as 14 and came from lower-class backgrounds. The grueling hours of practice and physical exertion took a toll on their bodies, and some even endured abuse.
In addition, Degas's paintings have been criticized for their misogynistic undertones and objectification of women. The artist himself has been accused of exploiting ballet dancers as female models and offering an all-male perspective in his work.
One of Degas's most famous paintings, "The Dance Class," shatters the traditional impression of ballet dancers and exposes the truth behind the curtains of the 19th-century Parisian stage. It reflects the issues of class and the exploitation of women, as the young dancers are contrasted with the wealthy men watching them from the shadows.
While Degas's ballet paintings are beautiful, they serve as a reminder to look beyond the surface and consider the hardships and struggles faced by the dancers.
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Frequently asked questions
Edgar Degas is a household name and is often associated with paintings of ballet dancers. He is also known as "The Painter of Dancers".
Degas was fascinated with the depiction of movement, and ballet, with its graceful movements, inspired him to paint dancers in motion. Degas also said to his friend Ambroise Vollard: "They call me the painter of dancers, but they do not understand that the ballerina was for me a pretext to paint pretty fabrics and depict movements."
Some of Edgar Degas' famous paintings of ballet dancers include "The Dance Class", "Dancers in Blue", "The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage", "The Star", and "Standing Dancer Seen From Behind".
Degas' paintings of ballet dancers are known for their intimate and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the world of dance. His works often depicted dancers backstage or in rehearsal, emphasizing their status as professionals doing a job. Degas' paintings also serve as a reminder to look beyond the glitz and glamour, as they portray the harsh living conditions and difficult existence of young dancers from lower-class backgrounds during the Belle Époque.
