About this artwork
This is a relatively small canvas for Degas’s late work, and indeed, some of the dancers’ poses look back to his earlier ballet pictures from the 1870s. Here, a group of dancers are on stage preparing themselves for the impending performance: they practise their positions and one ballerina stoops to tie her shoe. The dancers are not individuals, but faceless memories of a scene he had once observed. The vivid colours are vibrant and unrealistic, evoking the surreal effects produced by the gas lights of the theatre. Pools of shadow on the large expanse of stage are also rather abstract, and it is clear that by the late 1890s, Degas was far less concerned with naturalism than in his former years. His treatment of the oil paint is very delicate, almost as if it were gouache.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) French
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title:Before the Performance
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date created:About 1895/1900
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materials:Oil on paper laid on canvas
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measurements:47.60 x 62.50 cm; Framed: 67.90 x 83.20 x 7.60 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Sir Alexander Maitland in memory of his wife Rosalind, 1960
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accession number:NG 2224
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gallery:
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subject:
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Degas's celebrated paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture focus on aspects of Parisian modern life, including the racecourse and the ballet. His studies at the École des Beaux-Arts encouraged his interest in the human figure which remained central to his art. He travelled to Italy, where he had...