The Dance Class

1874

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 815

This work and its variant in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, represent the most ambitious paintings Degas devoted to the theme of the dance. Some twenty-four women, ballerinas and their mothers, wait while a dancer executes an "attitude" for her examination. Jules Perrot, a famous ballet master, conducts the class. The imaginary scene is set in a rehearsal room in the old Paris Opéra, which had recently burned to the ground. On the wall beside the mirror, a poster for Rossini’s Guillaume Tell pays tribute to the singer Jean-Baptiste Faure, who commissioned the picture and lent it to the 1876 Impressionist exhibition.

Artwork Details

Title: The Dance Class
Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
Date: 1874
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 32 7/8 x 30 3/8 in. (83.5 x 77.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham, 1986
Object Number: 1987.47.1
Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Huit Sonnets. . .Illustré de dix-nuef dessins inédits de Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas

Wittenborn and Co., La Jeune Parque

1946

Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl, Edgar Degas French, Aquatint, drypoint, and etching; printed from canceled plate — Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl
Edgar Degas
ca. 1879

At the Café des Ambassadeurs, Edgar Degas French, Etching, softground, drypoint, and aquatint; fifth (final) state; canceled plate — At the Café des Ambassadeurs
Edgar Degas
1879–80

Greek Landscape, Edgar Degas French, Etching (only state; impression from cancelled plate) — Greek Landscape
Edgar Degas
1856

On Stage III, Edgar Degas French, Softground etching,drypoint, and roulette on wove paper; fourth state of five — On Stage III
Edgar Degas
1876–77

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.