The artwork titled “Dancer Putting on Her Slipper” is an exquisite piece by the renowned French artist Edgar Degas, dated 1896. Executed in pastel, a medium Degas mastered, this piece belongs to the Impressionism movement, a genre characterized by a focus on the perception of light and movement. As a genre painting, it captures an everyday scene, portraying the intimate and informal aspects of life. The artwork does not reside in a public institution but is instead part of a private collection.
In the artwork, one observes an intimate moment of a ballerina as she prepares for her performance. The dancer is portrayed sitting on the ground with her back to the viewer, bending forward to attend to her slipper. This angle offers a candid glimpse into her routine, away from the public eye. Degas’ use of pastel creates a soft yet texturally rich tableau, blending diffused and vigorous strokes that evoke the transient nature of the moment.
The ballerina’s tutu fans out around her, rendered with quick, light touches of color that suggest its delicate fabric and the flurry of movement. The background is muted, with blues and greens offsetting the warm tones of the dancer’s skin and tutu, emphasizing the figure. The dancer’s form is simultaneously solid and fleeting, an embodiment of Degas’ fascination with the ephemerality of the moment and the dynamic beauty of dancers. Degas’ signature at the bottom right anchors the scene, marking it unmistakably as the product of his unique vision.
