The Chorus 1877

Editor: This is Edgar Degas' "The Chorus," created around 1877 using pastel. It captures a group of opera singers mid-performance, and I’m struck by the implied energy—almost chaotic, yet visually captivating. What’s your take on it? Curator: It's intriguing how Degas uses the stage to explore themes of labor and performance. In this painting, the chorus members are captured in a fleeting moment of collective action, but I see the individual reduced into components of something greater, questioning who the art industry benefits. Does Degas aestheticize their labor, or does he offer some critique of the performance as work? Editor: That’s an interesting perspective. I was so caught up in the aesthetic of it that I didn’t really consider their role as laborers, how they come together as this large group and move, perform and sing on a stage, just doing their jobs, like a stagehand working off-stage. What were the common ideas at the time? Curator: Absolutely. Think about the societal pressures on women, especially in the performing arts at the time. Their bodies and voices are instruments subject to the male gaze, commodified and exploited. Degas both documents this reality, and I believe his goal was also to investigate those social relationships through his painting. Do you find anything empowering or potentially problematic in Degas' focus? Editor: I do now, considering what you are bringing to light. On the surface, it seems like just another Impressionist painting capturing a moment in time, and I really missed the narrative behind that moment. Thank you! Curator: Of course. These perspectives remind us that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and our interpretations change as we engage with contemporary questions.