Group of Dancers 1910

Edgar Degas made this pastel drawing of dancers, probably in the late 19th century, and its all about process, right? The way Degas lays down these marks, especially that juicy blue stroke at the bottom, near the front, tells us something. He's thinking on the go, like jazz. The whole thing is built from these crumbly, broken touches of color. It's not about blending or smoothing; it's about letting the colors bump up against each other, creating this shimmering effect. Look at the faces, how they're not really "finished" in a traditional sense. They're more like suggestions, built from color and shadow. He's after something more atmospheric, more about the feeling of the dance than a perfect representation. You could see connections with someone like Bonnard, who also captured fleeting moments with a similar kind of hazy, dreamlike touch. Art’s just one big conversation, after all, isn't it?