Ballet Scene

Edgar Degas1880

Details

Title: Ballet Scene
Creator: Edgar Degas
Creator Lifespan: 1834 - 1917
Creator Nationality: French
Creator Gender: Male
Creator Death Place: Paris, France
Creator Birth Place: Paris, France
Date: 1880
Physical Dimensions: 19 1/4 x 21 inches
Description: In more than 1500 works of art, Edgar Degas painted, drew, etched, and modeled dancers in wax as they rehearsed, performed, rested, and waited in the wings. In Ballet Scene, Degas captured a performance in all its whirling spectacle of physical action and artificial lighting. The dancer at stage left moves toward the proscenium and completes a demi-plie. Cast in dramatic and somewhat eerie shadow, only the dancers legs, torso and the lower part of her face are illuminated by the stage lights before her. The large oval form in the foreground may be the start of a head in profile. Degas often juxtaposed the smaller form of a dancer on stage with the much nearer faces of audience members or musicians in the orchestra.
Provenance: Gift of Sara Lee Corporation
Type: Oil paintings
Rights: Dixon Gallery and Gardens. For Terms and Conditions for use of this image please contact the Registrar at 901-761-5250.
Medium: Oil on paper laid down on canvas

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