Blue Dancer

Edgar Hilare Germain Degas

Degas was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. He especially identified with the subject of dance. Many of his works depict this art form. This scene depicts the moments before a ballet class as dancers prepare and stretch. Degas emphasizes the feet and limbs of the working-class dancers with his use of pastel highlights that gently bathe the dancers in daylight as it filters through the curtains.

Edgar Degas, Edgar Hilaire Germain Degas, Danseuse bleue (Avant la classe, trois danseuses), Blue Dancer (Before Class, Three Dancers), 1886 - 1890, On loan from the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Trust for Art. Photography by Edward C. Robison III.