Dancers in the Foyer by Degas

This oil painting with an audacious panoramic format, titled “Dancers in the Foyer”, is an emblematic composition by the realist artist Degas Edgar. The creator is interested in the moments of rest and waiting that precede the ballerinas’ entrance on stage. This work wonderfully illustrates his modern, off-center vision of the show world, where the innovative framing is inspired by photography to capture the truth of the gesture.

In the dim light of a backstage room with dark brown and ochre walls, a group of several young dancers wearing turquoise blue tutus prepares to enter the stage at any moment. On the left, a ballerina bent in two stretches, her silhouette cut by the frame of a bright orange door projecting a streak of light on the dark wooden floor of the theater. In the center and on the right, three other standing dancers adjust their vaporous costumes in asymmetrical, natural poses. Two bright openings in the background reveal the bright stage, creating a powerful and dramatic contrast of artificial light and deep shadow.

The technical virtuosity of the artist’s is expressed in the treatment of the shades of blue and the rendering of the tutus’ transparency. His mastery of artificial light and his asymmetrical panoramic framing give this intimate scene a modern dramatic monumentality of great originality.