Waiting by Degas

Plunging the spectator into the silent wait behind the scenes of the Paris Opera, this masterly work by Degas Edgar, associated with the Impressionist movement, stands under the title of “Waiting” within his production. The artist abandons the brilliance of the official performance here to explore the psychological truth and fatigue of the bodies, capturing an unvarnished moment of modern life. This original composition bears witness to his untiring research into familiar attitudes and intimate expressions.

A young ballerina in a vaporous white tutu is seated on the left side of the composition, her body deeply bent forward to adjust the ribbon of her left slipper with her left hand. Beside her, on the right of the painting, an older woman dressed entirely in black is seated in profile, holding a large closed black umbrella tilted towards the floor. The two figures share a long brown wooden bench with red legs. The floor of the room is made of wide green-ochre wooden planks, in front of a high background wall painted in a warm, solid yellow-ochre.

This work celebrates the artist’s exceptional and masterly craftsmanship through an incredibly virtuous pastel technique. The painter uses dense and vibrant hatching to sculpt forms and suggest the texture of fabrics with an outstanding, marvelous, highly sophisticated and deeply poetic sensitivity.