Ballet Dancer in Repose
c. 1880-82
Edgar Degas was absolutely obsessed with ballet dancers, but unlike his peers who only painted them mid-pirouette, he loved capturing the exhausting, unglamorous moments backstage. Here, a young ballerina slumps in a chair, casually crossing her legs, with Degas's own handwritten note in the top corner describing the pose as 'resting with crossed knees.' It feels less like a formal portrait and more like a scientist's anatomical study of a tired athlete. The red 'Degas' stamp at the bottom left wasn't painted by the artist himself, but added by his studio after his death to authenticate the thousands of sketches he left behind.
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