Ballet Scene c. 1907

Degas made this Ballet Scene sometime in his career using pastels, and it's all about movement, right? I mean, just look at those dancers. What strikes me most is the texture. It's built up from layers of pastel, creating this kind of hazy, dreamlike quality. The colors are soft, muted – pinks, greens, browns – which makes the whole scene feel intimate, like a backstage glimpse. Look closely at the tutus. See how he's used these tiny, broken strokes of color to suggest the fabric's lightness, the way it catches the light? It's like he's not just showing us dancers, but the very act of dancing. There’s this beautiful blurring of forms that makes you think about the fleeting nature of performance, the way a moment can dissolve right before your eyes. It reminds me a bit of Gerhard Richter's blurred paintings, the way they capture the feeling of a memory fading. And just like Richter, Degas reminds us that art isn't about perfect representation; it's about capturing the essence of a feeling, a moment.