The Dance Class 1 by Degas

This masterly oil on canvas, painted by the illustrious French artist Degas Edgar, is temporarily titled “The Dance Class 1” and represents one of his most famous masterpieces dedicated to the world of dance. Falling within the realist and Impressionist movement, the painting penetrates the backstage of the Paris Opera during a rigorous rehearsal session. By capturing the ballerinas in informal and spontaneous postures, the painter offers a deeply human and modern vision of the learning of classical dance.

In a rehearsal room with light green walls and dark marble columns, numerous ballerinas are busy. In the foreground on the left, a dancer seen from behind wears a vaporeux white tutu belted with a large emerald green satin bow, while a small dog stands at her feet. On the right, the elderly ballet master Jules Perrot, dressed in a light grey suit, leans on a long wooden cane. Behind him, several dancers rest on a piano, one of them scratching her back with abandon. An open door reveals a bright room in the background, while a green watering can rests on the floor on the left.

The artist demonstrates an incomparable skill in rendering textures, notably the lightness of the tulle tutus and the shine of the satin ribbons. His mastery of oblique perspective and diffused light, which filters through invisible windows, gives this interior scene an exceptional spatial depth and psychological realism.