|
This is the first of Degas's numerous scenes of ballet dancers in the Paris Opéra. The dancer at the centre of this composition is Joséphine Gaujelin (or Gozelin). Even more than his jockeys, it is Degas's ballerinas who have determined his popular image to this day. From 1870 he increasingly painted ballet subjects; among other reasons, they were easier to sell, and the family bankruptcy left Degas needing money.
|
