Dancer with a Bouquet Bowing 1877

Edgar Degas created "Dancer with a Bouquet Bowing" using pastel on paper sometime in the late 19th century. Degas was a French artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and drawings, especially those depicting dancers. During the late 1800s ballet was evolving in Parisian society, moving away from the tradition of the aristocracy, it offered an opportunity for working class women to improve their social standing. In this pastel, we see a dancer bowing, holding a bouquet, surrounded by her fellow dancers and chaperones. The artist frequently represented the ballet, exploring its performative and theatrical aspects. Degas has been quoted as saying "It is very good to copy what one sees; it is much better to draw what you only see in memory. That is a transformation in which imagination collaborates with memory." Although celebrated for capturing the beauty of movement, Degas's work has also been scrutinized for its depiction of women, often seen as objectifying the dancers, reducing them to bodies on display. The ballet was grueling work, though. It remains a poignant reflection on the lives and labor of young women striving for visibility and recognition in a rapidly changing world.