art-Degas.com

Edgar Degas - Three Dancers, Blue Skirts, Red Blouses 1903

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From Fondation Beyeler, Switzerland:
Among the great treasures of the Beyeler Collection are two pastels from Degas’ late work: Three Dancers and Breakfast after the Bath. Their sophisticated composition and bold perspectives are as fascinating as his wonderful handling of colour and light. As far as draughtsmanship is concerned, Degas was an ‘Old Master’, but in his use of colour he was revolutionary with an avant-garde relish for experimentation. He remained somewhat aloof from the Impressionist circle and did not work out of doors – ‘sur le motif’ – but in the studio. His themes were ballet and the boudoir. As we see here, however, he was no longer interested in the academic pose, but in the complex sequences of the dancers’ movements. It is precisely the moment depicted in this scene, immediately before the dancer goes on stage, that quite possibly says more about the nature of dance than any image of its performance on stage.