Ballet Dancers

c. 1877

Edgar Degas

Artist, French, 1834 - 1917

Three pale-skinned ballet dancers wearing orange and dark turquoise costumes stand together on a stage in this square composition, which is painted with gouache and drawn with pastel over a monotype print. The dancers are close together near the center of the drawing, between two scrims representing trees, bushes, and grass on the theater set. A backdrop beyond suggests bushes and a tan-colored mountain under a blue sky. Two ballerinas face away from us. The dancer to the left has long, copper-red hair, and the one to the right has long brown hair. That second dancer leans onto one pointed toe. The third dancer, also with brown hair, is closer to and faces us, but she bends forward to adjust one shoe, and her face is hidden behind the stage setting. All three have peach-colored flowers in their hair, and their costumes have knee-length tutus with alternating layers of orange and turquoise. Swag sleeves lie across the dancers' upper arms from their low-cut bodices, and all three wear pale pink ballet slippers. The scene is drawn and painted with loose, visible strokes of paint and pastel, making many details indistinct. The artist signed the lower left corner, “Degas.”

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pastel and gouache over monotype

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

  • Dimensions

    Overall: 29.7 x 26.9 cm (11 11/16 x 10 9/16 in.)
    framed: 46.6 x 43.5 x 6.3 cm (18 3/8 x 17 1/8 x 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1970.17.27

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lemoisne 1946, no. 481

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Arnold & Tripp, Paris), 1881; Heber R. Bishop, New York; (sale, New York, American Art Association, 10 January, 1906, no. 13); purchased by (Durand-Ruel, New York); sold 20 February 1906 to (Durand-Ruel, Paris); sold 1908 to M. Rosenberg, Paris;[1] (César de Hauke, New York); Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris, by 1952; sold 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce, New York; gift 1970 to NGA.
[1] Provenance given in a letter dated 20 December 1977 from Charles Durand-Ruel, citing DR Paris stock number 8101 and DR New York stock number 3075.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1924

  • Degas. Galerie Georges Petit, Paris 1924, no. 127.

1948

  • Danse et divertissements. Charpentier, 1948-1949.

1952

  • French Paintings from the Molyneux Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1952, unnumbered checklist.

1960

  • Degas. Wildenstein and Co., New York, 1960, no. 27.

1961

  • French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 17, repro

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 52, repro.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1978, no. 28.

1982

  • Manet and Modern Paris. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1982-1983, no. 37.

1984

  • Degas: The Dancers, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1984-1985, no. 9, repro.

2019

  • The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue.

  • Degas at the Opera, Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019-2020, no. 176, repro. (shown only in Washington)

Bibliography

1924

  • Degas Exh. cat. Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1924, no. 127.

1946

  • Lemoisne, Paul André. Degas et son oeuvre. 4 vols. Paris: Arts et metiers graphiques, 1946-1949. Vols. 2 and 3, 1946. Reprinted in 5 vols., New York and London, 1984.

1960

  • Degas Exh. cat. Wildenstein and Co., New York, 1960, no. 27.

1961

  • French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 17.

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966: repro. no. 52.

1970

  • Russoli, F. and F. Minervino. L'Opera complete di Degas. Milan, 1970: 110, no. 531 (repr.).

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 100, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 483, no. 717, color repr.

1978

  • Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 28, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1982

  • Reff, Theodore. Manet and Modern Paris. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1982-1983, no. 37.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 478, no. 706, color repro.

  • Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son Oeuvre. 5 vols. New York, 1984: 2:266-267, no. 481.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 122, repro.

2019

  • Schulman, Michael.Edgar Degas, Digital Critical Catalogue. MS-471.

Inscriptions

lower left: Degas; lower right in graphite: Degas

Wikidata ID

Q64556350

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