Three Dancers with Hair in Braids (Trois danseuses les cheveux en tresses)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Edgar Degas had a subscription to the Paris opera, where he studied its corps of ballerinas, capturing them in intimate moments backstage—stretching, adjusting their costumes, rubbing their feet. Rather than duplicate the illusion of effortlessness seen onstage, Degas presents ballet as hard, grueling work. For these subjects, he often worked in pastel since the crayon's chalky texture was ideally suited to capturing the light, gauzy fabric of the tutus.

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