The Ballet Class (Degas, Musée d'Orsay)
| The Ballet Class | |
|---|---|
| |
| Artist | Edgar Degas |
| Year | Between 1874 and 1876 |
| Type | Oil paint on canvas |
| Dimensions | 85 by 75 centimetres (33 in × 30 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay |
The Ballet Class (French: La Classe de danse) is an oil painting on canvas created between 1874 and 1876 by the French artist Edgar Degas.[1] The painting depicts a group of ballet dancers at the end of a lesson, led by ballet master, Jules Perrot.[1] Known for often portraying dancers, Degas captured the grace and the rigorous nature of ballet as a profession.[2] This painting is defined with its Realism and idealized representation of dancers.[2] The Ballet Class is housed in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.[3] It was commissioned by the composer Jean-Baptiste Faure.[4] The Ballet Class closely resembles The Dance Class which was another work by Degas in 1874.[5]
Subject matter
[edit]The Ballet Class depicts a silver-haired teacher, Jules Perrot, at the center giving private lessons to young dancers in the Hôtel de Choiseul.[6] According to the American art critic Richard Mühlberger, Perrot's critical expression suggests the Realism and lifelike quality of the artwork.[6] Perrot, the teacher, is staring at the ballerina who is centered and looks to be dancing. Perrot is also gesturing to a ballerina behind him.[6] In The Ballet Class dancers are arranged in a loose connected line around the room and the teacher.[7] Some of the dancers are sitting and others are standing.[7] Some dancers watch the star pupil dance while others talk to one another or play with their dresses.[7] The dancers' bare backs, chests, arms, legs, shoulder blades, and exposed cleavage all emphasize nudity.[8] According to Carol Armstrong, an American art historian, the black neckbands the dancers wear highlight the whiteness and "nakedness" of the dancers.[8]
Additional details include the “stage mothers” watching over their children from the back wall.[7] A can of water for laying the dust on the floor, a little dog, and a girl sitting on the left, stretching her back.[7] Lillian Schacherl claims that all of these details suggest that this painting was carefully calculated and created in Degas’ studio based on preliminary sketches.[7]
Time period
[edit]As Edgar Degas became a leading figure in ballet painting, there was a decline in the ballet of the Paris Opéra.[6] The era of romantic ballet lasted from the 1820s to the late 1860s just before this painting was created.[7] The only people who remained from that era were Louis François Mérante and Jules Perrot.[7] Jules Perrot was a "maître de ballet" meaning “ballet master."[7] During this era, there were not many famous ballet dancers, so often the names of the girls Degas painted were not recorded.[7]
Process and technique
[edit]Jill DeVonyar and Richard Kendall suggested that The Ballet Class painting was well underway before Jules Perrot was introduced as the focus.[6] Perrot was painted over another male teacher who was thought to be Louis Merante.[6] Perrot did not mind posing for Degas to capture his outfit, posture, and appearance as well as the shadow and light on his clothing.[9] The length that Perrot posed for is featured through the velvety texture of his flannel suit and the precise red reflections on his face.[6]
Degas would take artistic liberties with his subjects; he would sometimes embellish the costume and setting.[5] Instead of focusing on a perfect performance, Degas' focal point is Realism, providing intimate views into the lives of ballet dancers during rehearsal.[5] He painted the dancers from observation, painting them as looking bored or exhausted highlighting the difficult profession of dancing, but he also adjusted the poses of the figures based on his imagination.[5] He used oils and built up layers of pigment on the canvas.[5] Oil and charcoal sketches of the girl scratching her back can be traced to earlier works, while the figure of Perrot specifically dates back to drawings from 1872.[7] In the location of the painting where one girl holds a fan, there was originally a girl adjusting her slipper, but Degas painted over it.[7]
The Ballet Class was one of three major artworks that centered and highlighted Jules Perrot between 1873 and 1876.[6] Perrot was often shown in the same way: giving private lessons in the Hôtel de Choiseul.[6] Degas used dogged repetition, meaning he would vary a single theme across many works, thus creating slightly different paintings each time as shown in The Dance Class.[7]
Edgar Degas: painter of ballet dancers
[edit]Edgar Degas had the reputation of being the painter of ballet dancers.[6] He painted the first ballet scene in 1866.[5] He created about 1,500 ballet works.[5] Degas felt sympathy for dancers who had to repeat and repeat until they reached absolute perfection.[5] He also had curiosity in movement, a love of music, and curiosity about French society.[5] He was very interested in the costumes that were worn by ballerinas.[5] He would make notes of exactly how the ribbon was tied or how the skirt was falling from the body.[5] He preferred the rehearsal studio, not the actual finalized performances because he liked the little events that occurred in the background.[5] Degas was obsessed with dancers on stage and behind the scenes, it was a way he could distinguish between real and artificial experiences.[7] He tended to focus on the female body in motion and depicted it in isolation from other aspects.[7] He was the first artist of his time to study dancers in motion.[5]
Overall, Edgar Degas devoted great time to the representation of women; ¾ of his work are images of women in some form.[2] As an artist, he was very active in Realistic portraits of women and women's hard work.[2]
Jules Perrot
[edit]
The relationship between Degas and Perrot is unknown.[6] Perrot was a leading figure in ballet in Russia and France in the 1830's and 1840's.[9] He was known as a legendary dancer and choreographer during the Golden Age of Romantic ballet.[6] However, Perrot's contract was not renewed at the Paris Opéra and Degas’s work has been interpreted as a means of reinstating Perrot's authority.[6] He was around sixty-four years old when this was painted.[9]
In the last phase of his career Perrot privately coached principal ballerinas as depicted in The Ballet Class.[6]
Date uncertain
[edit]Between 1872 and 1876, there are no dated oil paintings by Degas.[10] Paul André Lemoisne had dated this 1876, but based on observations from Degas’s other works the art historian Ronald Pickvance believes that 1874-1875 is more accurate.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Musée d'Orsay - La Classe de danse (The Ballet Class)". Musée d'Orsay. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d Kendall, Richard (1991). Richard Kendall and Griselda Pollock (ed.). "Dealing with Degas.” In Dealing with Degas. New York: NY: Universe. pp. 11–12.
- ^ "Encyclopédie Larousse en ligne - la Classe de danse". Encyclopédie Larousse en ligne (in French). Éditions Larousse. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Dance Class". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Meyer, Susan (1994). First Impressions Edgar Degas. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc. pp. 59–60.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jill DeVonyar and Richard Kendall (2002). Degas and the Dance. New York: American Federation of Arts. pp. 202–208.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Schacherl, Lillian (1997). Edgar Degas Dancers and Nudes. New York: Prestel-Verlag, Münchin. pp. 17–19.
- ^ a b Armstrong, Carol (2003). Odd Man Out: Readings of the Work and Reputation of Edgar Degas. Norway: Getty Research Institute. p. 54.
- ^ a b c Mühlberger, Richard (1993). What Makes a Degas a Degas. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Viking. pp. 32–35.
- ^ a b Pickvance, Ronald (1963). "Degas's Dancers: 1872-6". The Burlington Magazine. 105 (723): 256–267.
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