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Painting Comparison and Analysis: Dancer and Dance Class by Edgar Degas

After going through the online collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, two artworks by Edgar Degas have been selected. These include Dancer and Dance Class. This paper presents a comparison/analysis of the artworks. 

As their titles suggest, both works relate to the theme of dance, which the artist devoted most of his paintings and drawings to. Dance Class is believed to have gone through various stages of development, undergoing alterations from time to time that ultimately yielded the painting in its form as shown in figure 1 below. Many other prints, drawings, and paintings were later made and related to it. In its simplest, the painting captures a rehearsal dance room with some dancers in action while others are resting or just watching. Near the upper left corner of this painting, a mirror appears to be covering one half of the window, giving a reflection of the rest of the dance floor. Through the window, one can see chimneypots and roofs of the city buildings, with a gray and apparently steamy sky above. To the right stands the figure of a dance master or instructor, who shows grandfatherly features. An even more eye-catching feature of the painting is the leaning dancer positioned in the left-hand side of the painting’s foreground. Her   forward-thrusting position/pose has been reinforced by the fact that the dance master is looking the other way. By facing different directions, this dancer and the dance master work to the effect of setting up psychological and pictorial tension between themselves, something that cannot go unnoticed. The dance master, by virtue of looking backward, directs the attention of the viewer to the back of the dance floor where more action is taking place.

A further examination of this painting reveals that the figures’ firm solidity as well as the planar arrangement of the composition in general hold in check and deliver the piece’s spatial recession, which is largely dramatic. The painting’s upper-right quadrant, which looks like a tunnel, seems to have pulled in many of the figures. The ceiling of this room appears unusually close to the dancers’ heads. This delivers a kind of dramatic effect to the composition in general. At the center of this painting, and directly in the gaze of the dance master, is an arabesque-positioned dancer who seems to be struggling to escape.

Figure 1. Dance Class, 1874, Edgar Degas.

Link: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438817

The other artwork, Dancer, shown in figure 2 below, is one of the many artworks that have been associated with Degas’ piece, Dance Class, which has been analyzed above. Disparate in aspects such as extent of finish, medium, and size, it appears more of a working drawing than a piece complete on its own.  The drawing, depicting dancers in action, has been executed on paper using graphite pencil that has been heightened and reinforced with white chalk. Charcoal, or arguably friable crayon, has been used to give an artistic impression of the dancers’ shadows. Like Dance Class, line in this artwork is sure and precise; it contrasts the contours as well as the exquisite shading and reinforcement of the dancers’ torsos and busts. In addition to the similarities in terms of draftsmanship and materials used in these artworks, one notes other similarities regarding dance costumes and such related detail. The dancers’ curling locks of hair and décolleté bodice are similar in both artworks. While the other dancers at the background of this artwork seem to be in action (dancing), the one at the foreground seem to have paused, perhaps to adjust her costume. From the color of her hair to the ribbon on her neck, she resembles the one in Dance Class sitting at the piano to the extreme left of the painting. This and other features confirm that Dancer and Dance Class are related. Indeed, given the coincidence of costume as well as facture, it is safe to infer that these artworks depict not only the same models but also thematic purpose.

In this artwork, Degas could not do better to exhibit contextual crisp linearity and sensuous tonality that in a way suggests the artist’s interest in and preference for the rich effects delivered by a combination of pastel and chalk. The black pastel, or perhaps charcoal, in a subtle manner defines the dancer’s shadows as well as hair (except for the blonde-haired dancer in both artworks). The dancer in the middle and the costume she is wearing have stretched to give the artwork spatial balance, which the artists seems to have been keen to achieve.

Looking at the dancers in both artworks, one can say Degas may have reused images in his works to ensure the pictorial space featured more people. An interesting aspect of both pieces is the realism that is captured therein, more so in terms of what dancers go through when either practicing or conducting real performances. In Dancer, the dancer in the foreground seems to be adjusting her costume, while in Dance Class, dancers are shown in difference poses, with some even resting. By so doing, Degas presents realism in the dancing and performance context. It is no secret that dancing is quite a demanding activity, which can significantly drain a dancer’s emotional and physical strength. Having observed this in the ballet culture of his city that time, Degas sought to portray the dancers as they practiced in the backstage and rehearsal rooms, where what happens is far from the near-perfect performances usually witnessed on stage. In Dance Class, the viewer gets a true picture of what goes on behind the scenes as dancers rehearse and practice. From exhaustion to hard work and frustrations, the reality of the dance would could not be captured in a better manner. Exploring Degas’ life and his interest in dance, Joellen (2007), explains that the artists had himself admitted that his main interest in dancing and therefore presentation of dance as a major theme in his artworks lay in not only rendering movement but also painting pretty costumes. Notably, he has achieved these objectives in the two works under discussion.

Still more on the realism of these artworks, Degas shows no attempt to romanticize a dancers’ life. In Dance Class, the positioning of the dancers, with some leaning against the wall, others sitting down to rest as others go on with practice captures the typical behavior and engagement of dancers in rehearsal rooms. The fact that the dance master (or instructor) is a male speaks volumes as to the position of ballerinas in society, either today or even at the time of the artwork’s making. In this vein, the dance master in this painting has posed with authority, and his gaze tells it all as far as his role and position in the ballet is concerned. He seems to wield significant authority on the dance girls, whose lives are a far cry from the glamorous nature that is usually portrayed. In both artworks, the artist has not given much detail on the dancers’ faces, perhaps intentionally denying the viewer the glamorous, lithe, and idealized image that is usually portrayed of ballerinas anywhere in the world. Instead, what is more visible is the dancer’s fleshy and curvy nature, something that may also point to the sexual exploitation that is meted upon these dancers in society. As opposed to being accorded genuine respect, ballerinas are sexually exploited most of the time, and the fact that Degas does not give fine detail of their faces may serve to imply the extent to which dancers have been objectified in society. The missing facial detail is one area of resemblance of these two artworks.

Figure 2. Dancer

1880, Edgar Degas

Link: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/344210

In a word, Degas brings out his artistic mastery in the two artworks, which are undoubtedly related. He uses the pieces to focus on the theme of dance while bringing out contextual realism. From the sure and precise use of line in the pieces to the coincidences of costume as well as facture, the connection between Dance Class and Dancer cannot be disputed. While the comparison/analysis presented here many not necessarily be exhaustive, it nevertheless gives a glimpse into the artistic mastery of one of the most successful artists of his time.