Edgar Degas Dancers 1899 Impressionist Ballet Painting Art Print

Emerging from the revolutionary experiments of late 19th-century French Impressionism, this composition focuses on the raw energy of performance. This print showcases the artist’s mastery of pastel, using heavy layering to create a sense of vibrating light against the deep violets and warm ochres of the dancers’ costumes.

About Edgar Degas

Degas is best known for ballet dancers, painted rehearsing and resting as often as performing. He worked in pastel, oil and sculpture, and often used unusual, cropped viewpoints inspired by photography. The Impressionists held their first independent exhibition in Paris in 1874. The original dates from 1899. Impressionists favoured everyday subjects: gardens, cafés, rivers, railway stations and changing weather.

Styling this Edgar Degas print

This Edgar Degas print pairs a vibrant atmosphere with a blue, orange and purple palette that is easy to build a room around. In a bedroom, “Dancers” works as a 24×36″ statement piece above a console, or at 12×18″ to 16×20″ in a hallway or gallery wall. Finish “Dancers” with a thin white or oak frame: its blue, orange and purple palette pairs naturally with white walls, navy or denim textiles and pale oak.

At a glance

• Type: Edgar Degas print
• Artist: Edgar Degas
• Year: 1899
• Style: Impressionism
• Colours: blue, orange and purple
• Mood: vibrant, minimalist
• Subject: The human figure
• Orientation: portrait
• Collections: Edgar Degas Posters, Impressionist Art Prints