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  • Essay / The Subtleties of a Ballerina

    Was Edgar Degas more interested in girls or the movement of his paintings? Dancers come in all shapes, sizes and styles. It could be the neighborhood boy who is always ready to spin upside down on a piece of cardboard or even the contortionist who dreams of one day being a part of Cirque Du Soleil while training in a professional studio . A dancer progresses at his own pace and specializes in what he desires. While visiting the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, a photo of a ballerina caught my eye. The Ballerina by Edgar Degas is a photo that is not remarkable but is a hidden gem in a small room of the museum. The medium for this picture is oil on canvas and was created in 1876, which corresponds to the beginning of impressionist artwork. This photo was taken to introduce movement into art because what we can see can be perceived in another way by another individual. As a dancer in training, this photo caught my attention in the sense that there is a lot of discipline in this style of dance. Not only does this style of dance follow the classical theme of the music, but it also has a sense of contortionism in the sense that most dancers of this genre can walk on tiptoes for hours. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Edgar Degas has many movement photos and many photos of ballerinas, whether in unison or together in one photo. So Edgar Degas wanted to see ballet in a new light, introduce more women into his paintings and demonstrate the art of contortion. In this painting, The Ballerina, Edgar uses a variety of colors to depict a dancer. What draws attention to this photo is the dancer herself who is positioned in the center of the canvas. The dancer appears in a sky blue tutu. The tutu is the type of dress that ballerinas wear for their respected performances. The author then uses a shade of brown and green to display the different spaces in the photo. The shade of brown starts at the top right of the dancer and then slowly translates into shades of green to also illustrate depth in terms of emphasizing the dimensions of the piece. The white wall displayed to the left of the dancer indicates that the dancer can practice either on stage or in their respective studio. The black color was used to recall the traditional footwear of artists at that time. These days, most ballerinas wear a beige or brown outfit that includes a tip at the end of the shoe. With the transition colors going from behind the dancer to below, Edgar included the different colors to distinguish the space a dancer had in the respected setting, whether it was a studio school or a a scene. With the brown and green color on the floor, it is easy to emphasize the space the artist has to perform. The dancer also has two-tone walls with the respected lines running along the floor portion of the photo to indicate that she also shouldn't be too close to the wall when she launches into a complicated trick. Edgar demonstrates the distinctive space in this photo as it is centered on The Ballerina. The light source may be difficult to locate in this photo. As mentioned earlier, Edgar uses light colors to distinguish the light source coming from above. A more realistic view in terms of light coming from above and radiating between the walls of where this dancer is. As a common feature of most dance studios, lighting is crucial for most beginning artistsin order to see who they are following or to see their own movements. Another feature of this photo is that a small glimpse of a shadow can be found along the lines on the dancers' tutu. It is not a shadow that remains, however; it is more integrated into the dancers' specialized outfit. As a result, Edgar does not have a natural light source but he uses the colors of light to his advantage by simulating a light source coming from above. From the first impression upon seeing this photo, it is easy to point out that Edgar uses many lines throughout this photo. Some straight lines can be found among the dancer's tutu and among the walls that define the dancer's setting. Vertical lines are easily found among the dancer's legs and pose among the folds of her tutu. Horizontal lines are also found between the wall and separate the entire wall from the borders that run along the bottom of the walls. Diagonal lines are found in the pose the dancer holds in the photo, whether it is a point in her shoe on the far left or her arms held slightly low at an angle. Wavy lines could be found at the bottom of her tutu given the pose she is holding. Another distinctive line is that Edgar opted for a black line that highlights the dancer's complexion as seen along her respected outer limbs. One thing that seems strange is that Edgar did not include lines to distinguish a feature of this dancer's face. Lines are not only important in stationary art, whether on a canvas or on a wall, but also in performing arts, especially during a dance class or performance. From a linear point of view, this dancer is more asymmetrical than symmetrical. To break it down, look at its positioning. Edgar does not make her stand in the standard upright position where she could have stood on tiptoes. Instead, Edgar paints this dancer in an asymmetrical position where her right leg is extended toward the left side of the painting while her left foot rests on her toes. With her arms outstretched, we also see that this dancer's arms are not straight like the wings of an airplane but are slightly bent as if she is launching into a trick or technical movement. This position is not only common among ballerinas as figure skaters have also adopted this technique when balancing on thin steel blades on the ice. When my field trip took place at this museum in Balboa, texture was a primary thing. From my photo perspective, it appears that the texture in this photo is more smooth than stiff. Although it looks like a rough texture, this painting was done on canvas, which is part of the reason why the texture of this painting is smooth. Given the calmness of the painting, Edgar took this photo leaving almost no drip marks through his masterpiece when painting in oil. The atmospheric perspective of this dancer's perspective makes it appear as if this dancer is either in private practice on stage or in a ballet class. Due to the lack of her peers or classmates, it is obvious that she could find herself in either situation. It is more reasonable to believe that she might be in a private ballet class session in that the setting has faded colored walls behind her. If it were a stage, this might be evident with a wooden patterned floor or even a black covered floor, as is commonly seen in many theaters or performing arts centers. Another part of the atmospheric perspective is that it could also represent the loneliness of a ballet dancer in the sense that no peersis around her. Knowing that ballet typically uses the organic sounds of certain parts of an orchestra, it could also be that the atmospheric perspective is not intended to highlight a group in its entirety but to highlight the many dancers one by one. In other words, atmospheric perspective does not emphasize the entire photo, which could depict an entire ballet class, but rather small portions, such as the importance of a dancer's presence . Ballet generally emphasizes the ability of one person to be equivalent to the ability of a group with the respect each performer has for an iconic movement they are known for or preferred. Movement is something key among dancers and even figure skaters. Whether it's a small movement that isolates one part of the body or a full movement involving the entire body, all movements are uniquely distinct when a person performs them. In this photo, the dancer appears in a still point of view. However, when the viewer looks towards the ground and towards the dancer's feet, we see that the dancer is making a circular movement with one leg slightly bent and positioned in front of her. With the slight curvature of her arms, the movement also shows that her arms are out to balance her support, as she rotates on one foot using her toes to achieve the smoothest rotation. The absence of a face may suggest that the demonstrated movement took place along the rotation trajectory. Since the dancer is not looking directly into this movement, it demonstrates the importance of how her head should fall in the same color as the movement being performed. Even in figure skating techniques, the movement of where you want to go or where you want to do has to align with the proper movements of the body. By now, many of us have seen the optical illusion of the posed dancer spinning left or right. In this photo it is easy to point out that the directional force could be going in the right direction. Disregarding the fact that people should be viewing it from the proper anatomical view, it would appear that the dancer is actually turning to the left. With her left foot on the ground and facing directly at the viewer, it gives the viewer more to think about seeing that she has her right leg out and slightly bent. In terms of directional force, the viewer can possibly see that the dancer could turn in other directions. In figure skating, whether entering a camel spin or a sitting spin, the direction chosen can be either backwards or forwards when performing a trick. In ballet, the most common entry into pirouettes and turns usually begins in the front position, but immediately swinging the whole body backward with the desired leg leads into the pirouette. One thing that is rare for sore eyes to see these days is a chubby ballet dancer. In terms of mass and volume, most ballet dancers are considered healthy and light on the toes. In the canvas composed by Edgar Degas, The Ballerina presents a fit physique reminiscent of how most ballet dancers were perceived. While the dancer tiptoeing on one foot may appear heavy, Edgar gives the impression that she is as light as a flower, as if she is walking on a glass floor. With the doubling of the two wall colors, the released volume is equivalent to the angle of a room or a box. The dancer is also balancing on her toes, which in reality, if performed by an average person,could cause unpleasant pain at the tip of the entire foot. Therefore, Edgar Degas completely captures the complexity of how a ballerina dancer represents a light mass when she is constantly on her tiptoes. Was Edgar Degas the best impressionist artist of his time? In my opinion, his style and perspective was interesting in terms of his interest in how he perceived ballet dancers. Everyone experiences this defining moment in life. Whether it is Edgar Degas who marked the period of Impression in art or a ballerina mastering the most difficult movement and making it her specialty. Edgar Degas was the best impressionist artist of his time because he saw ballet from a different perspective, he included more women in his artwork, and he was really interested in the movement of the body. Art, whether it is culinary arts, performing arts, theatrical arts, or sporting arts, can be seen as a joke by many people in the sense that they may not take Don't take people seriously if someone says, "I'm a professional figure skating dancer." (Afanaseva). From famous dancers like Fik-Shun and Dytto, the practice of becoming better dancers is something that never ends for them. Edgar Degas was a man who contributed to so many works of art from the perspective of a ballerina. Edgar Degas saw much more than just a ballet performer. “Edgar Degas considered these artists as people exercising a true professional profession through the importance manifested in his works of art” (“Edgar Degas - The Complete Works - Biography - Edgar-Degas.Org”). In the Impressionist era, Degas never saw something that we take for granted in our performing arts today. Although it's difficult to be like modern-day professional ballet dancer Brittany Cavaco, dancers of all genres are still trying to find a place in today's dancing world. This is why Edgar Degas never took ballet dancers for their dancers and instead highlighted them through the many painted representations he created, as in this case, The Ballerina. La Ballerina was a springboard to bring women back to the forefront of the artistic scene. In this photo, the presence of a woman represents the strength of the beauty of the profession. “Edgar Degas has another picture called The Rehearsal. In this photo, it is clear that the main theme evoked is the presence of women through his numerous paintings. Given that this is another example of the subject matter, it also highlights how women were more prominently featured in his range of artistic masterpieces” (Gardner and Kleiner 362). “Edgar Degas emphasizes in many paintings the theme of ballerinas in terms of different perspectives or the presence of more than one woman” (Gardner and Kleiner 361). Therefore, Edgar covered many topics in the art forms he composed, whether it was his appeal to women or ballerina demonstrations. Ballet dancers are basically the original master contortionists. From a young age, bending and flexing their body parts in ways that shouldn't be flexed is something that makes them truly remarkable. Being double-jointed is another advantage when a person decides to dance because they can exploit their hidden talents to their advantage. Edgar Degas was a lover of movement. “Through his portraits of ballerinas, he was able to address the many ways in which the body could move and contort itself into unexpected points of view” (Schenkel). It is nothing other than the pure movement captured in the painting The Ballerina. Reiterate.