In the blue swirl of the dance. Essay on the painting by Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas “Blue dancers”, 1897.

Another great impressionist artist Edgar Degas has chosen as its main theme of creativity, the image of the dancers. His paintings abound with images of ballerinas at various points in their work. But the artist himself has always said that depicting dancers is just an excuse to make an attempt to catch the movement of figures and depict wonderful, as if flying fabrics.

In his work, the artist has undoubtedly achieved perfection: his figures live in dance, interact with each other. They are harmonious, airy, unattainable.

“Blue dancers” is probably the most famous painting by Edgar Degas, made in pastel. However, it should be noted that this painting belongs to the late stage of the French artist’s work, when Degas was significantly weakened and had health problems.

However, this did not prevent the artist from finishing work on his main masterpiece. The completed canvas is characterized by a rich color palette: here we see a huge range of shades of blue, green and yellow. The artist managed to convey the texture of the ballerinas ‘dresses, and depicted the dancers themselves in such a way that they are in continuous interaction, in a “cycle”.

The picture is full of soft, but juicy colors, the play of light and shadow is fascinating and makes you pay special attention to yourself. The shadows have a light texture, the colors of the fabric reflect on them and gradually the colors smoothly pass one into another. The picture is full of movement and an unusual creative atmosphere. The dance captures the viewer, impresses with its variability and versatility.

Edgar Degas was not a” full-fledged ” impressionist artist: he took the material of his work not from living nature, as was customary, but from the world of theater and Opera. Most likely, the artist’s rejection of generally accepted canons and standards brought him closer to other representatives of impressionism. Edgar Degas sought to create his own style and did not fit himself into the framework of any one direction dictating certain rules.

At the same time, the Impressionists were incredibly close to the artist only because they did not stop at a passive image of something-they went much further, trying to capture and capture elusive moments. The innovative artist Edgar Degas, who never tolerated the rules and dictatorship that bound him in his favorite kind of activity, found his own style and themes, which he immortalized in the history of fine art.