Dancers in Rose
Edgar Degas
(French, 1834–1917)
about 1900
Medium/TechniquePastel on paper
Dimensions84.1 x 58.1 cm (33 1/8 x 22 7/8 in.)
Credit LineSeth K. Sweetser Fund
Accession number20.164
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPastels
Collections
From the 1880s Degas was recognized as a master of pastel - a medium, highly popular in the eighteenth century, which he had done much to revive. Often, as here, he worked the pastel pigment in successive layers, creating complex juxtapositions of hues and textures. The ethereal dancers seem to be moving onto or off the stage; the tree that divides the composition at left is a painted theater prop.
InscriptionsLower left: degasProvenance1901, sold by the artist to Durand-Ruel, Paris; sold by Durand-Ruel to Joseph Flanagan, Boston; January 14, 1920, sold by Flanagan at American Art Association, New York, no. 58, and bought by Durand-Ruel for the MFA for $6800. (Accession Date: January 22, 1920)
Edgar Degas
