The Ballet Class
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, French, 1834 - 1917
Geography:
Made in France, Europe
Date:
c. 1880Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
32 3/8 x 30 1/4 inches (82.2 x 76.8 cm) Framed: 41 9/16 x 39 5/8 x 2 5/8 inches (105.6 x 100.6 x 6.7 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting before 1900, Johnson CollectionObject Location:
W1937-2-1Credit Line:
Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1937
Made in France, Europe
Date:
c. 1880Medium:
Oil on canvasDimensions:
32 3/8 x 30 1/4 inches (82.2 x 76.8 cm) Framed: 41 9/16 x 39 5/8 x 2 5/8 inches (105.6 x 100.6 x 6.7 cm)Curatorial Department:
European Painting before 1900, Johnson CollectionObject Location:
* Gallery 153, European Art 1850-1900, first floor (Lassin Gallery)
Accession Number:W1937-2-1Credit Line:
Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1937
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In this everyday scene from backstage at the Paris Opéra, a ballet instructor observes two young dancers while a mother sits reading in the foreground. Degas spent a great deal of time in the corridors and rehearsal rooms of the Opéra, where he would have seen mothers like this one managing their young daughters' careers. Girls began official ballet classes at age seven or eight in hopes of becoming premiere dancers by their late teens.
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.
