Trois danseuses dans les coulisses

Although several members of the Impressionist circle painted the spectacles of the theater and the world of the Opéra, no other artist brought this environment so brilliantly to life as Degas. Degas was fascinated by all aspects of the ballet, both on- and off-stage, and illustrated every step from rehearsal to performance in more than fifteen hundred works in various media. In the present charcoal drawing, Degas depicts three dancers off-stage in the wings, waiting in anticipation as they watch the activity happening on-stage. The curve of the wing in the lower right mimics the curves of the dancers' akimbo arms, lending a certain fluidness and movement to the composition, perhaps suggesting the performance happening on-stage. For Degas, part of the appeal of the world of dance was the endless opportunities for experimentation that it afforded him, allowing him to reposition dancers and rework settings. The present work bears striking similarities to at least two other works from the third studio sale, lots 325 and 381. When asked by Louisine Havemeyer why he painted so many ballet dancers, Degas replied, "Because, madame, it is only there that I can rediscover the movements of the Greeks" (quoted in R. Pickvance, Degas 1879, exh. cat., National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1979, p. 18).