Dancer Putting on Her Stocking c. 19th century

Curator: This is Edgar Degas' "Dancer Putting on Her Stocking," a bronze sculpture from the late 19th century. It's currently held here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: Immediately, there's something almost voyeuristic about it, wouldn't you agree? That private act rendered in such a public medium. The woman's caught mid-motion, bent over, wholly unidealized. It brings a specific historical lens to our consideration. Curator: The dancers for Degas held an almost archetypal weight. Beyond their individual identity, they existed to him in relation to the performance of ballet as a discipline, the rituals of preparation and training. Consider the enduring symbolism of the stocking, in ballet or fashion - its transformative role in the pursuit of ideals, or even a specific class identity. Editor: Absolutely. The ballet was also a deeply gendered and classed space. The male gaze, the sacrifices these dancers were often forced to make – these bronzes, in all their seeming mundanity, carry the weight of social commentary whether Degas consciously intended that or not. I find the pose somewhat uncomfortable, highlighting the constraints placed upon women's bodies. Curator: Precisely. Her pose isn't graceful in the traditional sense; it’s functional. The impressionistic rendering, the rough, almost hastily modeled surface—it all contributes to that feeling of immediacy. I see here something closer to documentary, and through its texture, something brutally physical, but true. Editor: I do agree. Degas captured not just the fleeting moment but also, intentionally or otherwise, a layer of socio-political critique. Her slightly hunched posture suggests exhaustion; it disrupts that Romantic ideal of the ballerina that the audience was usually presented with. What we see, thanks to art history, feels a little too raw in her preparation. Curator: In essence, the sculpture allows us to see how even mundane routines, viewed through the lens of enduring visual forms, gain cultural significance. This continues to shape how we view performers. Editor: And understand, more broadly, how female bodies continue to be sites of labor and objectification. Ultimately, that seemingly casual stocking evokes so much—labor, beauty standards, control—all trapped, it seems, in a static dance.