Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement
17 September - 11 December, 2011
Royal Academy Of Arts - Admission Charge
The current exhibition at the Royal Academy Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement explores the fascinating links between Degas’s highly original way of viewing and recording the dance, and the inventive experiments being made at the same time in photography by Etienne- Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge, and in film-making by such pioneers as the Lumiere brothers.
Degas has always been associated with impressionism; he exhibited in many of the impressionist exhibitions between 1874-1886. However, his style is very different from Monet and Renoir. Degas said “there is nothing less spontaneous than my art”. Degas, like Monet, came from a good family and this gave him more opportunities, especially early on to make contacts with key people such as owners of the ballet. The ballet in the nineteenth century received monies from sponsorship given by men of the wealthy bourgeois; in exchange for their sponsorship they were given access to rehearsals and backstage. These visits, it can be said, were not in the main to admire ballet but rather to see the young girls who generally came from the working classes. In short, ballet was not seen as a respectable institution. The bourgeois connections of Degas gave him unprecedented access to the ballet, whether that was to performances, backstage and rehearsals.
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| Edgar Degas The Rehersal, c. 1874 Oil on canvas 58.4 x 83.8 cm Lent by Culture and Sport Glasgow on behalf of Glasgow City Council. Gifted by Sir William and Lady Constance Burrell to the City of Glasgow, 1944 Image copyright Culture and Sport Glasgow |
Degas, the Painter of Dancers
On the 10 April 1880, the art critic Paul de Charry writing for Le Pays described the artist Degas as the painter of dancers. Charry went on to write: Degas makes keen accurate observations. His ballet rats are perfectly realistic. During the nineteenth century, there were many conflicting reviews regarding the accuracy of Degas’s poses. However, we could look on these conflicting views as a framework for suggesting that many of Degas’ ballet images were experiments in depicting movement on a two dimensional canvas. These experiments included direct observation, photography - which Degas was interested in - and an interest in the moving image.
One of the great aspects of this show is the room dedicated to pioneers such as Etienne-Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge who dedicated themselves in documenting and capturing how animals – including humans - move. On view are magnificent bronze sculptures depicting the flight pattern of a bird.
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| Edgar Degar Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer's Opera "Robert Le Diable", 1876 Oil on canvas 76.6 x 81.3 cm Victoria & Albert, London Image copyright V&A/Victoria and Albert Museum, London. |
Colour, Angles and Film
I defy anyone to look at a Degas painting and not be mesmerised by his use of colour. His use of pastels (blues, pinks, greens) creates an image of texture, brilliance and luminosity; all three elements heightening the artifice and glamour of the theatre. Crucial to his images are the different viewpoints from where the spectator is positioned; these include the orchestra, the wings, and in the theatre circle. All these different angles are techniques to bring the spectator right on the stage or into the rehearsal studio, creating an intimacy between the dancer and spectator. The last exhibit in the show is an enthralling short film of Degas – a genius - walking the streets of Paris. Anyone who attends this show will be truly captivated.
Nehrain Khalifa, 2011