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Edgar Degas , French, 1834-1917

Title

Two Ballet Dancers in a Dressing Room

Datec.1880

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions

48.5 x 64 cm

Signedupper right: Degas

Credit LineBequeathed, Edward Martyn, 1924

Object numberNGI.2740

DescriptionDegas was fascinated by the ballet world in Paris. From the 1870s he observed and recorded the graceful gestures and movements of dancers, first representing performances and later studio rehearsals. In a wide variety of media, he repeatedly described the details of the dancers’ agility, precision and strength. In 1885 he gained privileged access to the Paris Opéra, which enabled him to move freely behind the scenes and sketch the dancers in their routine work environment.
In this pastel, ballerinas (more than likely members of the corps de ballet) take a moment’s rest in their dressing room before going on stage. A rail of costumes forms the backdrop and points to the fact that this may be a quick-change area. Degas skilfully renders the textures of their tulle skirts, tied with large blue sashes, as well as the artificial light that illuminates the dancer with her back to the viewer. The slightly elevated viewpoint and the cropped nature of the composition contribute to the overall sense of immediacy of this image. It is likely that the novelist and playwright Edward Martyn, who visited Paris with fellow writer George Moore in 1886, bought this pastel directly from the artist’s dealer Paul Durand-Ruel.

March 2016
ProvenanceThe artist; Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris 1 March 1884; acquired Edward Martyn 27 April 1885; bequeathed, Mr E. Martyn, 1924 Exhibition HistoryAn Exhibition of Pictures Presented to the City of Dublin to Form the Nucleus of a Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Hiberian Academy of Arts, Dublin, November 1904 - February 1905

National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Spring 1905, no. 55

Loan Exhibition of Modern Continental Paintings, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1944, no. 25

A Loan Exhibition of Drawings from the National Gallery of Ireland in Aid of the Florentine Art Treasures Fund, Wildenstein & Co., London, 31 May 1967 - 7 July 1967, no. 90

Drawings from the National Gallery of Ireland in Aid of the American Benefactors of the National Gallery of Ireland Fund, 16 November 1967 - 30 December 1967

Degas 1879, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 13 August 1979 - 30 September 1979, no. 33

Degas: Images of Women, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, 21 September 1989 - 31 December 1989, no. 21

Impressionism in Britain and Ireland, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, 2 June 1995 - 30 July 1995

The Art of Pastel, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 7 September 1996 - 6 October 1996

Edgar Degas and the Italians in Paris, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, 14 September - 16 November 2003, no. 39

Impressionist Interiors, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 10 May 2008 - 10 August 2008, no. 6

The World of Performance: Dance, Theatre and Song, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 10 August 2013 - 8 December 2013

Pastel Revealed, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 25 February 2023 - 5 June 2023