“Degas depicted the ballet in more than 1,000 paintings, prints, pastels, and sculptures. He preferred private, offstage moments to glamorous curtain calls or artfully constructed compositions. Here, three dancers stretch together in the wings, unaware of the viewer’s presence. Powdery layers of yellow, orange, and pink pastel create a rough surface characteristic of Degas’s late work in the medium. He invented special techniques that allowed him to build layer upon layer of color with varying degrees of opacity and transparency. This pastel’s rich surface and intense, vibrating palette is the result of such innovative methods.”
Cleveland Museum of Art
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~Sunnyside
At Sunnyside - Where Truth and Beauty Meet 
What he did with pastels, beyond beyond.
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Agree!!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Richard. 🙂
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I had the same thought, Richard 🙂
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😎❤️
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Out of this world. Not sure why really, but perhaps the markings on paper, instead of paint on linen, pushed him further. I so love the whole series.
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Reblogged this on penwithlit.
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Really love this one. 😍
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A dancer’s heart. ❤️🙂
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Is it fair to say that Degas was obsessed with ballet? Or perhaps, a certain ballet dancer?
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Perhaps I am cynical, but I suspect those poor young women were misused in many ways by all those men lurking behind the curtains… Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dee.
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How beautiful!
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😎❤️
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I love both of these. Thank you! 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sheila. 🙂
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Dance is an art form, and clearly Degas was fascinated with it and dancers. Love the pastels an dolls he did on this subject.
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I am so happy you enjoy these, too. If only we could be a fly on the wall and see his process with pastels! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Vivienne. 🙂
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Oh, I love Degas. These are fantastic.
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So do I! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Bridgette. 🙂
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