Edgar Degas and the Dance

by Theodore Reff

Presented by Mina Ford

Aims

• To explore Degas’ representations of young ballet dancers as they relate to urban life of his time.

• To understand Degas’ work within the context of the theoretical writings of Edmond de Gencourt and Ludovic Halevy.

• To explore the significance of ballet as a manifestation of both the realistic and the artificial in movement.

• To explore the concept of artificial beauty in classical ballet and Degas’ attraction to it.

Who’s the man?

Edgar Degas(1834-1917)• Painter• Dance is among his most

important themes.• Lived in Paris• Introduced to the opera at a

very early age by father• Fascinated with women’s

labor and modern urban life.

Two Views

Edmond de Goncourt“…he has fallen in love with

modern life, and of all the subjects in modern life he has chosen washerwomen and ballet dancers…It is a world of pink and white, of female flesh in lawn and gauze, the most delightful pretexts for using pale, soft tints.(218)”

Ludovic HalevyFocused on the irony of

Degas’ work and argued that he offered the insider’s view because he presented the dancers behind the scenes and as real people. This contrasts their presentation as a theatrical spectacle.

…And now for a question…

What is the “dual attraction” that Theodore Reff writes about when expanding upon Degas’ fascination with the ballet?

The realistic/artificial dichotomy

Reff concludes that Degas was attracted to the ballet both for its theatrical illusion and for its gripping reality.

“He could respond with equal interest to the pathos of the dancer’s daily existence and the magic of her momentary glory onstage.(219)”

More commentary…

The writer, Champsaur, describes the dancer onstage “in the splendor of her somewhat artificial beauty” but also backstage, “breathless with fatigue… the lines of her body graceless and almost brutal(219)”.

“The Classical ballet was for Degas a supreme example of formal, disciplined, even artificial beauty(219)”.

“…the dancer in Degas’ work is often and embodiment not of feminine charm but of the lower-class woman’s struggle for survival, burdened and

deformed by her labors(219).”

Discussion Question

What is your take on Degas’ balanced portrayal of the dancers as both specimens of staged beauty and members of a working, sweating, society? Do you feel that this concentration on the preparations of the dance and not only the dance lead the public to a more complete understanding of dance itself?

Perhaps…

When we see the dancers straining onstage yet presenting themselves as flawless, graceful beings we are only struck with their perfect- tion in illusion. When we see them fixing a shoe or resting, we see their perfection in reality.

More Discussion…

What effect do you think Degas’ often close and personal relationships with the young dancers had on his paintings of them?

Possibilities

He idealized them in his paintings. The friendships he had led him to know the

dancers as more than pretty people on a stage therefore he painted them as such.

In painting the girls taking part in commonplace activities, Degas was, in effect, creating yet another illusion out of reality.

Let’s look closely at some paintings…

The Dance Class

Everyday People

Final Discussion Question

Do you find that presenting dancers in rugged, real and brutal poses somewhat shatters the illusion that they create in the dance onstage? If so, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? If not, explain.

Many views, as well there should be

Degas presents the typically idealized female body in an entirely new fashion, thus destroying the rigid and programmed nature of the classical ballet and it’s hold on the body.

Painting the dancers making natural movements expands upon painting them making staged and planned movements. Degas presents a complete picture of both the dance and the process involved in creating it.

The significance of Degas’ fascination with everyday life is amplified by his representations of dancers on stage and dancers backstage. Each of these ways of seeing the dancers enhances the other.