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Lot Essay
The theme of the dancer played a role in Degas' art for many decades of his life, although their values and the styles with which he rendered them shifted again and again, aligning themselves with his interests in representation, in movement and in everyday life. When Degas had begun depicting ballet scenes, it was as a facet of contemporary life. The wealthy and the cultured frequently congregated at the ballet and the opera, and in much the same way that Manet created bar scenes, Degas presented scenes of dance.
Danseuse, executed in 1896, lacks the photorealism that marked some of Degas' earlier depictions. Indeed, he has used an intense green as the background, with electric flashes of blue and red highlighting the shape and movement of the dancer adjusting her strap. The pose in Danseuse appears in several works of this period, often facing the other way, not least in the famous Quatre danseuses in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In this larger picture, it is clear to see that the dancers are huddled behind the edge of the stage, waiting to go on, making their final preparations. In Danseuse, the green of the eaves remains in the background. This increases the viewer's sense of artifice as if the dancers are actresses, hiding behind mock foliage apparently caught unawares by the artist. This dialogue in artifice itself is crucial to Degas' work, especially from the late period. As he himself said: 'We see what we want to see; it is false, and this falseness constitutes art' (Degas, quoted in M. Daniel, Edgar Degas, Photographer, exh.cat., New York, 1998, p. 53). During this time, Degas was using photography extensively, and had exhibited some of his photographs publicly. Amongst his photographs were several studies of dancers which clearly relate to the Washington picture. All this shows the extent to which he was exploring the ramifications and potential uses of photography in painting. In his late works, the Impressionist sense of realism no longer sufficed. Instead, Danseuse is articulated by his use of extreme colour, his deliberately loose handling of the inessential parts of the composition. In this way, he is able to lend this work a sense of movement that would otherwise not have been possible.
It was, of course, movement and form that attracted Degas to the theme of dancers in the first place. Movement, indeed, was one of his central concerns throughout his artistic career, as demonstrated in his intense interest in riding and racing. Degas was interested in capturing movement in his earlier works, but now was more interested in finding ways to convey it that were not hampered by the same stillness as photography. It has been speculated that the sequential photography of Eadweard Muybridge was some influence here. This is reflected even in the slight nuances in pose between Degas' depictions of dancers, sometimes showing the same position from various angles, as in Les danseuses in the Toledo Museum of Art.
The composition and pose themselves reinforce the sense of activity, directing the gaze in this direction then that. However, Degas has not chosen a moment of dance, he has chosen a moment of tension and anticipation. The left hand figure helps to enforce this by looking into the scene, making it a contained work, not allowing the viewer's glance to escape. In fact, the background figure fulfills a very formal role in the composition reminiscent of Renaissance masterpieces, Degas not in fact glimpsing a brief moment, but framing a scene he has himself designed and refined in order to be able to direct the viewer, and dictate what we should see. In the Washington painting, there is a large expanse of canvas occupied by the empty dance-floor, heightening the awareness of the dancers' impending flurry of action and contrasting with their bustled forms in the left. In Danseuse, Degas instead uses tight composition to capture and indeed intensify the scene. By doing this, he not only concentrates the picture's impression of gentle movement, but also the elegance of the dancer herself. The artist admires her form and seeks the ultimate means of transferring her grace to paper.
Danseuse, executed in 1896, lacks the photorealism that marked some of Degas' earlier depictions. Indeed, he has used an intense green as the background, with electric flashes of blue and red highlighting the shape and movement of the dancer adjusting her strap. The pose in Danseuse appears in several works of this period, often facing the other way, not least in the famous Quatre danseuses in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In this larger picture, it is clear to see that the dancers are huddled behind the edge of the stage, waiting to go on, making their final preparations. In Danseuse, the green of the eaves remains in the background. This increases the viewer's sense of artifice as if the dancers are actresses, hiding behind mock foliage apparently caught unawares by the artist. This dialogue in artifice itself is crucial to Degas' work, especially from the late period. As he himself said: 'We see what we want to see; it is false, and this falseness constitutes art' (Degas, quoted in M. Daniel, Edgar Degas, Photographer, exh.cat., New York, 1998, p. 53). During this time, Degas was using photography extensively, and had exhibited some of his photographs publicly. Amongst his photographs were several studies of dancers which clearly relate to the Washington picture. All this shows the extent to which he was exploring the ramifications and potential uses of photography in painting. In his late works, the Impressionist sense of realism no longer sufficed. Instead, Danseuse is articulated by his use of extreme colour, his deliberately loose handling of the inessential parts of the composition. In this way, he is able to lend this work a sense of movement that would otherwise not have been possible.
It was, of course, movement and form that attracted Degas to the theme of dancers in the first place. Movement, indeed, was one of his central concerns throughout his artistic career, as demonstrated in his intense interest in riding and racing. Degas was interested in capturing movement in his earlier works, but now was more interested in finding ways to convey it that were not hampered by the same stillness as photography. It has been speculated that the sequential photography of Eadweard Muybridge was some influence here. This is reflected even in the slight nuances in pose between Degas' depictions of dancers, sometimes showing the same position from various angles, as in Les danseuses in the Toledo Museum of Art.
The composition and pose themselves reinforce the sense of activity, directing the gaze in this direction then that. However, Degas has not chosen a moment of dance, he has chosen a moment of tension and anticipation. The left hand figure helps to enforce this by looking into the scene, making it a contained work, not allowing the viewer's glance to escape. In fact, the background figure fulfills a very formal role in the composition reminiscent of Renaissance masterpieces, Degas not in fact glimpsing a brief moment, but framing a scene he has himself designed and refined in order to be able to direct the viewer, and dictate what we should see. In the Washington painting, there is a large expanse of canvas occupied by the empty dance-floor, heightening the awareness of the dancers' impending flurry of action and contrasting with their bustled forms in the left. In Danseuse, Degas instead uses tight composition to capture and indeed intensify the scene. By doing this, he not only concentrates the picture's impression of gentle movement, but also the elegance of the dancer herself. The artist admires her form and seeks the ultimate means of transferring her grace to paper.