Dancers in the Foyer by Degas

This superb oil painting on canvas, created by the realist artist Degas Edgar, bears the temporary designation of “Dancers in the Foyer” and fits fully and perfectly into the innovative aesthetics of the Impressionist group. The work depicts the rigorous work within a rehearsal studio, a recurring motif for the painter who loved to observe with great sharpness the repetition of technical gestures and body discipline.

In a vast dance room punctuated by imposing square columns of ocher and salmon color, several ballerines dressed in pastel blue tutus practice diligently and with application. One of them, in the foreground on the left, leans firmly against a column, stretching her leg backward, while in the center another adjusts her hairstyle, her arms gracefully raised above her head. The asymmetric poses and silhouettes fragmented by the architecture create a complex, modern spatial dynamic. Diffuse light enters through large side openings, bathing the space in soft shades of mauve and beige that soften the contours of the bodies in motion.

Thanks to a bold composition cut by vertical columns, the artist completely revolutionizes the traditional rules of perspective. His oil technique, made of light and superimposed touches, wonderfully and beautifully restores the dusty, powdery and laborious atmosphere of the dance class.