Year: 1880
Material: Oil on canvas
Creator: Edgar Degas
Collection: European Art 1850 - 1900
The Ballet Class, one of Degas's many works that captures a less-than-glamorous moment in the world of ballet, sits in a gallery full of Impressionism. It is an excellent example of this school of art, and complements both the other works of Degas in the gallery, and those of his contemporaries.
Anyone interested in this style would enjoy studying the painting. I imaging that many visitors would stop to glance at it, because the style, the artist, and the subject matter are familiar to many, and widely accepted as "good art." The majority of these people, however, think of Degas's ballerinas as simply pretty, and miss the realism (and the refusal to lapse into romanticizing) these types of scenes.
Although there are no more Degas works in sight while standing before this particular painting, there are a few around the corner, in a connecting room. If a visitor is thorough, he or she would be able to view and compare all of his works on display.
The label begins to touch on the culture of the ballet dancer by describing the scene: the dancers practicing in the background, the mother waiting in the foreground. It also mentions the long and arduous career of the dancers. But I believe that the exhibit missed an opportunity explaining why Degas found this subject matter so fascinating.
The ballerinas, despite their back-breaking hard work, belonged more to the demimonde than to polite society, and one of their goals was to find a wealthy patron, or caretaker. Ballet mothers in 1880s Paris could be compared to modern pageant mothers, micromanaging their young daughters' careers. Explaining a bit more of this history would enlighten the viewer, and some personal accounts of the time, whether of dancer, mother, or teacher, would be especially illuminating.
Furthermore, by juxtaposing Degas's rehearsal and backstage scenes with performance scenes in the same space would show how he was enamored with this contrast: the beauty and showmanship of the performance and the exhaustion and repetition of rehearsal.
Anyone interested in this style would enjoy studying the painting. I imaging that many visitors would stop to glance at it, because the style, the artist, and the subject matter are familiar to many, and widely accepted as "good art." The majority of these people, however, think of Degas's ballerinas as simply pretty, and miss the realism (and the refusal to lapse into romanticizing) these types of scenes.
Although there are no more Degas works in sight while standing before this particular painting, there are a few around the corner, in a connecting room. If a visitor is thorough, he or she would be able to view and compare all of his works on display.
The label begins to touch on the culture of the ballet dancer by describing the scene: the dancers practicing in the background, the mother waiting in the foreground. It also mentions the long and arduous career of the dancers. But I believe that the exhibit missed an opportunity explaining why Degas found this subject matter so fascinating.
The ballerinas, despite their back-breaking hard work, belonged more to the demimonde than to polite society, and one of their goals was to find a wealthy patron, or caretaker. Ballet mothers in 1880s Paris could be compared to modern pageant mothers, micromanaging their young daughters' careers. Explaining a bit more of this history would enlighten the viewer, and some personal accounts of the time, whether of dancer, mother, or teacher, would be especially illuminating.
Furthermore, by juxtaposing Degas's rehearsal and backstage scenes with performance scenes in the same space would show how he was enamored with this contrast: the beauty and showmanship of the performance and the exhaustion and repetition of rehearsal.
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