The Dancing Class

Edgar Degas

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this luminous glimpse behind the scenes of the Paris Opéra, young ballerinas in gauzy tutus stretch, chat, and rehearse under the watchful presence of a violinist and a towering mirror that doubles the room's activity. Degas, fascinated by movement and modern urban life, used loose, feathery brushwork and an off-kilter, photographic composition to capture the candid, unposed energy of the dancers rather than a formal performance. A founding figure of Impressionism, he returned to the ballet subject obsessively throughout his career, finding in it an endless study of light, fabric, and the human body in motion. This intimate, softly colored scene brings the hushed anticipation of a rehearsal hall into any room.