Dancer Kneeling, Seen from the Back 1880 - 1885

Edgar Degas made this drawing of a dancer, using pastel and charcoal on paper. The looseness and the speed of mark making are palpable. It is the kind of drawing that prioritizes immediacy and the ephemeral quality of a dancer's pose. Degas made many images of dancers, often in pastel. You get a sense of the powdery material, and its capacity to pick up subtle nuances of light and shadow. But this choice also has a deeper resonance. Ballet itself was a world of illusion, where extreme discipline was masked by a veneer of effortless grace. The pastel medium seems perfectly suited to this effect - light, delicate, and easily smudged, just like the dancer’s fleeting presence on stage. The work reminds us that all art, even the most seemingly spontaneous, is the product of deliberate choices, technical skill, and a deep understanding of materials.