Danseuse l'ventail

The acid yellow, almost phosphorescent touch of pastel highlights the intense work of the charcoal, as in Degas' sophisticated studies. The artist's observant eye focuses on his favourite icon - the ballerina. The young dancer is captured off-stage, en repos, her left hand near her hips, her right one holding an open fan - an attribute which Degas often used to balance the posture of the ballerinas. The fan is the ultimate touch of voyeurisme, a subtle reference to the artist's capability of stealing the most intimate and spontaneous moments of the dancers' life. Thus, Degas conveys the feeling of exhaustion and relation that accompany the easing of tension after a session in class. One of his most famous dancers pictured with a fan is the main figure of La classe de danse (Muse d'Orsay, Paris, L. 341), towering above the others at the opposite ends of the room, almost the mirror image of the present ballerina.