There are countless ballet paintings hanged on the walls in museums around the world, and some might be in your house. That’s actually not surprising since ballet is one of the most beautiful things that could bring life to canvas. Although, ballet painting is popular for collectors for decades, not all of them could be recognized. However, ballet painting is like a portrait painting, if we have the famous “Monalisa”, why don’t we have one for ballet?
I’m talking about “The Dance Class”, the most memorable ballet painting by a French famous artist, Edgar Degas. “The Dance Class” has its original name in French, La Classe de Dense, which is the same meaning in English. It was painted in 1873 considering the most ambitious figural compositions except for history paintings of Degas. The painting was done in 1876.
This oil painting features Jules Perrot, one of the most well-known ballet master at that time, rehearsing dancers in the Foyer de la Danse of the Palais Garnier, or Paris Opera.
The reason that “The Dance Class” has become famous might be because we could feel the picture. Even though, there’s no dancing figure on canvas, all of them are really show expressions through their postures; strict teaching of the teacher, bored waiting by putting arms on the waist, or even scratching on the back while listening. Those are the things that actually happen all the time in ballet classes. Whether his idea came from the real picture or not, Edgar Degas just did it right along the way.
Story Source from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art | The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Wikipedia
Photograph from Canvasreplicas
Ballet Blossom 