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Joanna Joy Ngo

Prof. Zhukov
ART2003C
16 Oct. 2015

Edgar Degas The Ballet Class

The Ballet Class is one of the most known paintings by Edgar Degas. He used
oil on a canvas with dimensions of 85x75cm. It was painted between 1871 and 1874 1.
The painting seems like a cropped photograph, one of the influences of Japonisme 2 on
Degas, showing a slightly diagonal view point of the ballet studio. On the left side of the
foreground, there are two ballerinas facing their back, one with a red flower on her
ginger hair, paying attention to the master and overlapping a brownish puppy and the
other ballerina who is sitting on the cut-off black piano, lazily scratching her back. On
the right side of the foreground the wooden floor is empty until it reaches the ballet
master who is overlapping a few ballerinas. The background is mostly dedicated to the
pale olive green walls in between green marbled looking posts, a slightly white detailed
ceiling (both balance with the empty wooden floor), and a stylish entrance that balances
with the ballet master. There are approximately sixteen visible ballerinas, wearing their
white tutus and black necktie, who are across the room diagonally, making the
asymmetric line proportionally dividing the floor and the walls, doing different actions:
paying attention, conversing, stretching; however, all are semi surrounding the ballet
master who is holding a wooden staff, showing authority, giving instructions, and being
the only subject who is not wearing a tutu, putting emphasis on him, making him the
focal point of the painting.
The colors he used for this painting are optical colors, since being a realist
impressionist, it isnt likely for him to change and decide the colors by his own
imagination, which is also why his painting is representational rather than figurative
since the ideal was to paint exactly the way their eyes (not emotions) perceived the
subject matter. In the artwork, most of the colors are opaque, but he also uses
translucent white to give the puffy, light texture of the tutus. He uses monochromatic
colors (by adding neutral colors) to show value, which at the same time gives the feeling
of texture, for example the slightly wrinkled outfit of the master caused by his posture
1 The Ballet Class. Muse d'Orsay. Muse d'Orsay, 2006. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
2 Ives, Colta. "Japonisme". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. Web. 16 Oct. 2004.

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and the ballerinas tutus. He uses converging straight diagonal lines, overlapping of
figures, making figures look smaller and less detailed as we go farther to the back in
order to give the illusion of depth. Lines were also used to make the rectangular shapes
of the walls, which are overlapped by the organic shape of the subjects which seem to
be doing certain actions, giving the illusion of movement.
Through all these elements and principles used harmoniously, he was able to
portray these young girls exhausted, lazy, distracted, some attentive as the ballet
master gives them instructions. Instead of painting the ballerinas on stage, where they
seem to be more glorious and perfect, he chose to paint them during rehearsals to show
the hard work these girls had to go through in order to present something as beautiful
on stage; however, Degas wanted to show that behind them there is this ballet master
who trained and helped them, which is why the master is the focal point of this painting.

Degas, Edgar. The Ballet

Class. Muse d'Orsay.
Muse d'Orsay, 2006. Web.

To see the larger and clearer version of the painting, go to this link:
http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/info/gdzoom.html?tx_damzoom_pi1%5BshowUid
%5D=2344&tx_damzoom_pi1%5Bzoom%5D=1&tx_damzoom_pi1%5Bback%5D=http
%3A%2F%2Fwww.musee-orsay.fr%2Fen%2Fcollections%2Fworks-in-focus%2Fsearch
%2Fcommentaire%2Fcommentaire_id%2Fthe-ballet-class3098.html&cHash=d994d46ee2