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The Dance Class
Edgar Degas, 1874
Edgar Degas painted this in 1874. He was interested in what happens around the edges of a performance, and here he shows a rehearsal, not a stage show. The teacher at the centre, leaning on his cane, is usually identified as the ballet master Jules Perrot.
While one dancer works through her exercise, the others wait their turn. One scratches her back, another adjusts her sash, and others talk. Nobody poses. The composition feels almost like a snapshot, with figures cut off at the edges and the floor running in a steep diagonal across the lower half. The light on the pale tutus and the green walls gives the room an even, quiet glow.
The painting is oil on canvas, 83.5 by 77 centimetres, and entered the Metropolitan Museum's collection in 1986 as a bequest. Degas made many paintings of dancers in rehearsal, and this is one of the best known.
From the museum record
| Artist | Edgar Degas |
|---|---|
| Date | 1874 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Size | 32 7/8 x 30 3/8 in. (83.5 x 77.2 cm) |
| Museum | The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Bequest of Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham, 1986 |
| Accession number | 1987.47.1 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
