Why did Edgar Degas Paint So Many Ballerinas?

Question

Why did Edgar Degas Paint So Many Ballerinas?

Answer 1

I had an art teacher that said he actually hated women and did not have a good image of them, I think he had mommy issues but was obsessed with ballerinas because of the way they moved and how beautiful they were. I think he also painted horses for the same reason. Either way his paintings of dancers are beautiful.

Answer 2

It was during the 1870's that Degas acquired his enduring reputation as a "painter of dancers". The reasons for his interest in dance were numerous and diverse but certainly stem from his life-long enthusiasm for music and the opera. Indeed amongst his circle of friends could be counted the composers Emmanuel Chabrier and Ernest Reyer. The interior of the opera house also had many visual attractions - the possibility of unusual views onto the stage from balconies or the orchestral pit, contrasts between light and darkness, illusion and reality, beauty and banality ... Degas seemed to be as interested in the effects of artificial light as others among the Impressionist group were interested in the effects of natural light.

There is no evidence that Degas had amorous liaisons with any of the dancers (it would have been quite common at the time for members of his class to have mistresses amongst the corps de ballet) however Daniel Halévy, son of the writer Ludovic Halévy, maintained that "he finds them all delightful and excuses them for all they do and laughs at everything they say". This contrasts remarkably with the typical image of him as a grumpy misogynist!

After the theme of dance it was the racecourse which drew most of his attention and an inventory of his work reveals that to this theme he dedicated no less than 45 paintings, 20 pastels, about 250 sketches and 17 sculptures. Racecourses were a relatively new phenomenon in France, being introduced there from England in the 19th century. The Longchamp stadium opened in 1857 as part of Baron Haussmann's plans for the city, and it was this course which inspired Degas, Manet and, later, Toulouse-Lautrec. The exclusive Jockey Club was inaugurated in 1833 and it naturally attracted the same upper classes who attended the Paris Opera. Of all the Impressionist circle it is significant that the racecourse as a theme inspired only Manet and Degas.

Answer 3

I am a presenter for our Elementary School's Art Smarts Program.  Just last year we presented Edgar Degas.  Edgar Degas began painting ballerinas because he loved ballet, and because he loved the artistry and power of movement.  For similar reasons he also painted many beautiful pictures of racehorses.  Later, he continued to paint and draw ballerinas for two additional reasons:  first, the ballerina pictures sold so well that they were making him wealthy, and, second, as he was losing his sight, it was easier for him to use pastels to draw a topic with which he had so much familiarity.