The Dance Class 1874

Edgar Degas painted 'The Dance Class' using oil on canvas. The hazy application of paint evokes a sense of movement and light, almost as if the scene is caught mid-motion. What makes this painting so compelling, though, is the tension between the apparent lightness of the dancers and the material reality of their lives. Ballet was hard work, and for many young women, it was also a job that they needed to survive. The delicate tutus and pastel colors are in marked contrast to the labor involved, the grueling hours of practice, and the social pressures of the ballet world. Degas, in his attention to the studio environment and the dancers' poses, acknowledges this complexity. He makes us aware of ballet as a form of production, and not just an idealized art form, asking us to consider the social conditions that enable such beauty.