2020-06-01_The_Artists_Magazine

(Joyce) #1

66 Artists Magazine June 2020


Degas’ paintings of dancers overlooked an important per-
spective: “None of them have addressed the Opéra as a whole
or attempted an overall appraisal of the artist’s passionate
attachment to the institution itself—his musical tastes; his
love of Christoph Gluck [German composer; 1714–87] and
pre-Romantic music; his preference for French grand opera;
his anti-Wagnerism; and his personal relationships with
successive Opéra directors, composers, the corps de ballet,
singers, musicians, conductors and subscribers.”
Degas’ affinity for the opera and the stage began
long before he started attending the Paris Opéra in his
mid-20s. “Music and theater were a part of Degas’ DNA
and daily experience from a young age,” said Jones in a
recent interview. “Degas was deeply passionate about
opera and music and was embedded in a circle of profes-
sional singers, musicians, and art and music connoisseurs
through the weekly music salons his father hosted in their
home. Additionally, Degas’ family would attend the opera
together, and both of his sisters were musical as well.”
In later years, Degas developed close connections with
many of the subjects he painted, including conductors, com-
posers, dancers in the corps de ballet, singers, orchestra
members and patrons. One of his best friends was Ludovic
Halévy, the librettist of Carmen.^

BACKSTAGE PASS
Although Degas was a subscriber to
the Paris Opéra and often viewed
performances from the audience,
what interested him most as an
artist was the private backstage
world—the side the public wasn’t
permitted to see. Whether he was
painting ballerinas between scenes
or in rehearsal rooms, singers poised
to go on stage, composers sitting in
silent consternation or musicians
during practice sessions, Degas
delighted most in being a fly on the
wall and an eyewitness in the wings,
sharing a viewpoint that wouldn’t
otherwise be possible if not for his
VIP access. In the finished artworks,
Degas the documenter disappears,
and we find ourselves standing in
the room next to these elite singers,
dancers and musicians—finding
the subjects and scenery as visually
stimulating as Degas did.

CLOCKWISE
FROM ABOVE
The Dance Class
ca 1873; oil on
canvas, 18¾ x24½
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART,
WASHINGTON, CORCORAN
COLLECTION (WILLIAM A.
CLARK COLLECTION)

Mlle Fiocre à
propos of the Ballet
“La Source”
ca 1867–68,
oil on canvas,
51 ³ ⁄ ₁^6 x56¹¹⁄₁^6
BROOKLYN MUSEUM; GIFT
OF JAMES H. POST, A.
AUGUSTUS HEALY AND
JOHN T. UNDERWOOD

The Ballet from
“Robert le Diable”
1871; oil on canvas,
26x21⅜
LENT BY THE METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM OF ART; H.O.
HAVEMEYER COLLECTION,
BEQUEST OF MRS. H. O.
HAVEMEYER, 1929
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