Green-walled hall full of dancers in white tutus gathered around an elderly ballet master leaning on a cane

The Ballet Class

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What you see

A large green-walled hall is full of dancers in white tutus. Just right of center, the ballet master, an old man in a pale suit, leans on a cane and watches a pupil practicing in front of him. In the left foreground, a dancer seen from behind, with a green sash and a red flower, stands beside a piano where another girl is perched.

The whites of the tutus, brushed in light touches, glow against the green walls and wooden floor. The floorboards run diagonally and pull the eye toward the back, where the mothers wait. Spot the little dog at the feet of the dancer seen from behind, and the green watering can in the lower left corner.

About Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas is famous for his ballet dancers, whom he painted in classes, rehearsals and backstage more than a thousand times. He liked to capture movements of a single instant, as if they were photographs. Besides oil paint, he often used pastels, sticks of colour that give a soft, velvety look.

All 11 works by Edgar Degas