Les Sylphides 1922

Laura Knight made this painting of Les Sylphides with oil on canvas sometime in the 20th century. I love how she captures the ballerinas, not with hard lines, but with soft, blended strokes, giving them an ethereal quality like they could float away any second. It's like she's painting a memory or a dream. The texture here is super interesting. The paint looks thin, almost transparent, in the background, but then it thickens around the dancers, especially in their white tutus. Look closely, and you can almost see the individual strokes, how she layered the paint to give the fabric volume and light. Notice how the dancer at the center looks like she is leaping right out of the canvas! Knight's got a touch of Degas in her, don’t you think? Both artists are masters of capturing fleeting movement and the beauty of the everyday. But where Degas is all about sharp lines and observation, Knight leans into the dreamy and the emotional. It's a reminder that art isn't about getting it "right," but about opening up a space for feeling and imagination.