Ballet Scene from Robert la Diable 1872

Edgar Degas painted this oil on canvas, Ballet Scene from Robert le Diable, which depicts a scene from the opera of the same name. The piece gives us a peek into the cultural world of 19th-century Paris, where opera and ballet were central to the city’s social life. The stage is set with ghostly nuns in white habits, beckoning the protagonist. Degas seems less interested in the narrative than in the spectacle of the theatre itself. Notice how the dark foreground features the heads of the orchestra members, as though we, too, are part of the audience. The Paris Opera was not just an entertainment venue; it was a social institution, where class, gender, and power dynamics played out. By studying the design of the Opera and the social habits of its patrons, historians can tell us much more about the cultural values of the time. Art always reflects not just personal expression, but also the society that shapes it.