Why Degas’ Ballerina Paintings Fascinate Even the Non-Dancer

For example, in Dancers at the Old Opera House (c. 1877), Degas captures what perhaps the ballet company’s director or the theater’s stage manager would see from a post in the downstage right wing.

And in Dancer Against a Stage Flat (c. 1880) the perspective is perhaps that of another dancer, a ballet master, or stage crew.

We even get glimpses of abonnés, the wealthy male subscription holders (some of whom were known to have affairs with certain dancers they were financially supporting) at the theater in Ludovic Halevy Speaking with Madame Cardinal (c. 1876-1877), Dancer’s Dressing Room (c. 1878), and The Curtain (c. 1880).

Over twenty years ago, Smithsonian Magazine published an article in response to a “Degas and the Dance” exhibition that was making its way around the United States at the time. In it, they mention that Degas “would later become an abonné himself” which makes me wonder if there’s a self-portrait Easter egg we should be on the hunt for.

Also, there is a mundanity to the titles of Degas’ works – iterations of “dancer”, “ballet class”, “dance class”, “ballet rehearsal”, and “ballet school” – that, in their ordinariness, actually suggest something interesting in what we are witnessing. No adjectives required (except the occasional color).