Description
Edgar Degas’ Four Dancers depicts ballerinas on the sidelines of a stage. This is a common theme for Degas and a common way to depict them. It currently hangs at the National Gallery of Art. Degas was a frequent attendee of performances at the ballet and opera and was inspired greatly by them. This hand-painted oil reproduction is a wonderful example of impressionist art even though Degas did not like the label “impressionist.” Here, he managed to capture an intimate moment prior to the performance, almost as if he snapped a picture with a camera. The figures are clustered to the left and are depicted in much finer detail than the background, which is somewhat blurry. Some critics have even suggested that it is not four separate dancers here, but one dancer in movement.
