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拍品專文
Executed circa 1879, this pastel is closely related to the central ballerina in a frieze-like scene of dance rehearsal, which Degas kept revisiting from 1879 to the mid 1880s. For more than five years, he elaborated upon the theme of a fixed set of dancers placed in an oblong room, altering the poses and changing the combinations, in an endless contrapuntal variation. One of the figures appearing in all three major interpretations of the theme is the present dancer, seen from the back, caught while tying the ribbon of her toutou.
The first execution of the composition is Danseuses au foyer (La Contrebasse) (L. 900, 1879, The Detroit Institute of Arts), to which this pastel is compositionally strongly associated. The dancer's posture is identical: she stands alone, her legs neatly open - écartées -, her back gently bent, and her head turned slightly to the left. She is completely absorbed in her rituals of preparation for the class, almost absent-mindedly making the final touches to her gown before joining the floor. As usual, Degas revels in the depiction of the most intimate, off-stage gestures of his subjects, and the preparatory drawing has an exquisite finished quality, in relation to the oil. What is also striking is the dazzling palette Degas used in the pastel, which he slightly tamed in the painting: a cool, almost electric juxtaposition of green and blue, illuminated by some confident strokes of white.
The second oil in the series is La lesson de danse (L. 625, 1879, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr and Mrs Paul Mellon 1995.47.6, fig. 1): the ballerina's posture has slightly changed from the Detroit picture (her legs are closer, her feet parallel), but the chromatic choices remain amongst the cool hues. In the oil, the dazzling blue of this pastel turned into a deep cobalt blue, beautifully contrasting with the white skirt.
Finally, Danseuses au foyer (L. 905, 1882-1885, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929; H. O. Havemeyer Collection (29.100.127)) replicates the same motif, but in a tawny tonality, relieved occasionally by accents of bright colour. Slightly off-centre, in a darker room, the ballerina has lost a little of the monumentality that this pastel masterfully conveys.
The first execution of the composition is Danseuses au foyer (La Contrebasse) (L. 900, 1879, The Detroit Institute of Arts), to which this pastel is compositionally strongly associated. The dancer's posture is identical: she stands alone, her legs neatly open - écartées -, her back gently bent, and her head turned slightly to the left. She is completely absorbed in her rituals of preparation for the class, almost absent-mindedly making the final touches to her gown before joining the floor. As usual, Degas revels in the depiction of the most intimate, off-stage gestures of his subjects, and the preparatory drawing has an exquisite finished quality, in relation to the oil. What is also striking is the dazzling palette Degas used in the pastel, which he slightly tamed in the painting: a cool, almost electric juxtaposition of green and blue, illuminated by some confident strokes of white.
The second oil in the series is La lesson de danse (L. 625, 1879, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr and Mrs Paul Mellon 1995.47.6, fig. 1): the ballerina's posture has slightly changed from the Detroit picture (her legs are closer, her feet parallel), but the chromatic choices remain amongst the cool hues. In the oil, the dazzling blue of this pastel turned into a deep cobalt blue, beautifully contrasting with the white skirt.
Finally, Danseuses au foyer (L. 905, 1882-1885, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929; H. O. Havemeyer Collection (29.100.127)) replicates the same motif, but in a tawny tonality, relieved occasionally by accents of bright colour. Slightly off-centre, in a darker room, the ballerina has lost a little of the monumentality that this pastel masterfully conveys.