Dancer Stretching at the Bar
1877-80
Edgar Degas was obsessed with capturing the unglamorous, behind-the-scenes reality of ballet dancers, far away from the spotlight. Here, a young ballerina is caught in a candid moment of exhaustion and discipline, stretching her leg high against the barre while her back is turned to the viewer. The rough, textured strokes of pastel give the scene a sense of immediate movement, as if Degas sketched it right there in the rehearsal room. He famously said, 'No art was ever less spontaneous than mine,' revealing how much careful observation went into these seemingly casual glimpses of Parisian life.
- Technique
- Pastel
- Material
- Paper
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