Ballet Class
by DEGAS, Edgar, Oil on canvas, 82 x 77 cm
The composition of this extraordinary picture is one of thorough calculation. Down the centre runs a diagonal demarcation separating Jules Perrot, the instructor, two resting dancers and a mother from the three dancers currently exercising. The mother in her flowery dress and straw hat is reading “Le Petit Journal” and taking no interest in the class.
Degas has played a subtle trick with our perceptions: the glimpse we have of Paris beyond the room is not seen through a window on the rear wall it is in fact the dancers’ mirror.