The Ballet Class (1871-74) - Edgar Degas - Painting analysis | Masterpieces in 3 min.

The Ballet Class (1871-74) - Edgar Degas
In this painting, the viewer finds himself in a large old dance hall. The walls are high
and decorated with stucco. The light bathes the room in a hazy green. The numerous
young ballerinas stand on the old, creaky wooden floorboards. It's easy to imagine
what it must sound like when they move across this floor in their pointe shoes. The
girls all wear white tutus and wide bows of different colors around their waists.
Very few of them are dancing, most of them look rather exhausted or restless. While
some have already sat down in the back of the picture, a dancer in the foreground
turns her back to us. She puts her left hand on her hip while waving a fan in her right
hand to catch her breath. It seems as if the girl has sat down next to her on the grand
piano, which usually fills the room with music. She leans forward impatiently,
scratching her back with her left hand. A little further on, a dancer is changing her
earring.
Only one girl stands ready in position. She is listening attentively to her teacher,
whois in the right half of the picture. The teacher is Jules Perrot, whom the painter was
allowed to watch during his lessons. He is a small, older man in a gray suit. He rests
his hands on the stick with which he sets the beat during the lesson.