Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass
Degas used an elongated frieze format for more than forty rehearsal scenes made over the course of two decades. This is one of the first such works; it was preceded by The Dance Lesson (ca. 1879, National Gallery of Art, Washington). Here, the angled wall in the foreground sets off the striking juxtaposition of a double bass and a seated dancer, bent over to tie the laces of her slipper. Technical analysis reveals that Degas painted the complex composition in virtually a single campaign with only minor revisions.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass
- Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1882–85
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 15 3/8 x 35 1/4 in. (39.1 x 89.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
- Object Number: 29.100.127
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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