GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Aria After the Ballet, presented at the fourth impressionist exhibition in 1879, has all the drama typical of Edgar Degas's theater subjects. The dancers, but especially the singer at the left, are flooded with light projected from below. At lower right protrude the curving forms of the bass instruments, emerging like comic periscopes from the orchestra pit. Degas manipulated perspective and played with a disparity of scale: the stringed instruments appear to be the same height as the expressively posed opera singer to whom their "heads" turn, as if in rapt attention. Though the work was exhibited with the title Ballet de l'Africaine, a particular opera has not yet been identified.
This work reveals, too, Degas's attention to experimentation with various media. Rich pastel captures the radiant, shimmering effect of the costumes of the performers. In contrast, matte gouache defines the forested and mountainous scenery, thereby approximating the drab, sketchy painting of a stage backdrop. Plate marks just visible along the edges of the paper suggest that the pastel and gouache mask a monotype print, which provided the basis of the composition. A monotype of such an1979 unusually large size would have been an audacious experiment on the part of the artist.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, "Aria After the Ballet," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 107.
NOTES
Created 1879
Checked Piction
The Durand-Ruel family seems to have bought this splendid painted print by Edgar Degas from the fourth impressionist exhibition of 1879 and kept it in the family collection until Emery Reves bought it in the late 1940s. Thus, it has a provenance that links it to the artist himself and to the collection of the most important Parisian art dealer of the late 19th century. Although it has never been recognized as a print in the vast Degas literature, the platemarks along the left, right, and lower edges make it clear that this large pastel and gouache painting was made over a monoprint. There are no other surviving prints from this immense plate - the largest ever used by Degas - possibly because it was so difficult to print. Perhaps because the impression was inferior, Degas covered the vast majority of the printed surface with pastel and gouache. This alteration, and the relative inaccessibility of the work to scholars, has prevented the identification of the plate.
Physical evidence suggests that Degas made a huge black-ink monoprint, cut the sheet of paper along the top after printing (perhaps because the impression along the top was so bad), and then used the resulting print as the armature for the gouache landscape and pastel figures. He chose the two mediums carefully. The dry gouache has all the qualities of the flat water-based paints that scenery painters used to achieve the best effect of stage lights. For contrast, Degas used pastels for the figures, whose costumes and makeup were designed to pick up and scatter the light.
That Degas selected this complex work of art for inclusion in the 1879 impressionist exhibition indicates the high regard that he felt for it. The impressionist exhibition of that year was dominated by Degas, whose submissions to it were of the highest quality. Interestingly, the scene was identified in the exhibition catalogue as "Le Ballet de l'africaine." Scholars have never identified the particular opera depicted in this painted print.
"Impressionist Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection," page 71
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Degas, Edgar (French, 1834-1917)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
13312428: UMO Degas: Dance, Music and Time
13315431: UMO Degas, Dance, Dallas Richard Kendall
44996925: UMO Learn more about Degas
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- YouTube~Watch this animated video about Degas's depictions of ballet dancers from the "Art with Mati and Dada" series.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about Edgar Degas.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
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TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 1985.R.26
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General Description
Aria After the Ballet, presented at the fourth impressionist exhibition in 1879, has all the drama typical of Edgar Degas's theater subjects. The dancers, but especially the singer at the left, are flooded with light projected from below. At lower right protrude the curving forms of the bass instruments, emerging like comic periscopes from the orchestra pit. Degas manipulated perspective and played with a disparity of scale: the stringed instruments appear to be the same height as the expressively posed opera singer to whom their "heads" turn, as if in rapt attention. Though the work was exhibited with the title Ballet de l'Africaine, a particular opera has not yet been identified.
This work reveals, too, Degas's attention to experimentation with various media. Rich pastel captures the radiant, shimmering effect of the costumes of the performers. In contrast, matte gouache defines the forested and mountainous scenery, thereby approximating the drab, sketchy painting of a stage backdrop. Plate marks just visible along the edges of the paper suggest that the pastel and gouache mask a monotype print, which provided the basis of the composition. A monotype of such an1979 unusually large size would have been an audacious experiment on the part of the artist.
Excerpt from
Dorothy Kosinski, "Aria After the Ballet," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 107.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- YouTube~Watch this animated video about Degas's depictions of ballet dancers from the "Art with Mati and Dada" series.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about Edgar Degas.
Notes
Created 1879
Checked Piction
The Durand-Ruel family seems to have bought this splendid painted print by Edgar Degas from the fourth impressionist exhibition of 1879 and kept it in the family collection until Emery Reves bought it in the late 1940s. Thus, it has a provenance that links it to the artist himself and to the collection of the most important Parisian art dealer of the late 19th century. Although it has never been recognized as a print in the vast Degas literature, the platemarks along the left, right, and lower edges make it clear that this large pastel and gouache painting was made over a monoprint. There are no other surviving prints from this immense plate - the largest ever used by Degas - possibly because it was so difficult to print. Perhaps because the impression was inferior, Degas covered the vast majority of the printed surface with pastel and gouache. This alteration, and the relative inaccessibility of the work to scholars, has prevented the identification of the plate.
Physical evidence suggests that Degas made a huge black-ink monoprint, cut the sheet of paper along the top after printing (perhaps because the impression along the top was so bad), and then used the resulting print as the armature for the gouache landscape and pastel figures. He chose the two mediums carefully. The dry gouache has all the qualities of the flat water-based paints that scenery painters used to achieve the best effect of stage lights. For contrast, Degas used pastels for the figures, whose costumes and makeup were designed to pick up and scatter the light.
That Degas selected this complex work of art for inclusion in the 1879 impressionist exhibition indicates the high regard that he felt for it. The impressionist exhibition of that year was dominated by Degas, whose submissions to it were of the highest quality. Interestingly, the scene was identified in the exhibition catalogue as "Le Ballet de l'africaine." Scholars have never identified the particular opera depicted in this painted print.
"Impressionist Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection," page 71
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Degas, Edgar (French, 1834-1917)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
13312428: UMO Degas: Dance, Music and Time
13315431: UMO Degas, Dance, Dallas Richard Kendall
44996925: UMO Learn more about Degas
VIDEO ASSETS
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