Stlukesguild

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas- 1834 –1917, pt. 2

The subject for which Degas is most well known is almost certainly that of the ballet. The ballet offered the artist the ideal situation in which to observe the human body in motion. It also presented a world of the theater... the artificial... the magical... the wondrous costumes and stage sets:













While Degas was certainly not the first artist to be enamored of the dance or the ballet, no one explored it in such depth... obsession even. The artist could be seen regularly at the dance studios or back stage at the theater rapidly sketching. Him absolute mastery of drawing served him in being able to capture the fleeting movements of the girls:







These studies led Degas to recognize and respect the similarity of effort involved in the repetitive practice movements of the dancers with those involved in the mastery of drawing. It also led him to explore new angles, new relationships between figures, and innovative points of view. Where most artist would explore the spectacle of the ballet by presenting the ballerina in full dress costume on stage, Degas explored the strenuous back stage stretches, the endless waiting, the dancers standing in the wings, and even the more questionable aspects of the ballet: the stage mothers pushing their daughters, and the relationships between the wealthy ballet patrons and favorite ballerinas that often verged upon or crossed over into prostitution:













The ballet would actually serve Degas as an inspiration for his experiments in sculpture... his 14-Year-Old Ballerina....



... a work in wax (later cast in bronze) and dressed in real cloth skirt with a lace ribbon in her hair certainly stands as the single most innovative sculpture of the 19th century. Indeed, as a sculptor Degas is only rivaled in his time by Rodin.