The Dance Class is an 1874 oil painting on canvas by the French artist Edgar Degas.[1] It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.[2]

The painting and its companion work in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, are amongst the most ambitious works by Degas on the theme of ballet. The imaginary scene depicts a dance class being held under the supervision of Jules Perrot, a famous ballet master, in the old Paris Opera, which had actually burnt down the previous year. The poster on the wall for Rossini's Guillaume Tell is a tribute to the operatic singer Jean-Baptiste Faure, who had commissioned the work.[2]

The painting is on view in the Metropolitan Museum's Gallery 815 as of December 2023.[2]

References

  1. ^ Alastair Macaulay (September 2, 2008). "Degas's Ballet Students Teach the Lessons of Their Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "The Collection Online - The Dance Class - Edgar Degas". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

External links