An exhibition on Degas and his fascination with ballet dancers – surprisingly, the first to be staged in the UK – was today announced as one of the highlights of the Royal Academy's 2011 programme.
Edgar Degas is often seen as a populist painter of chocolate-box scenes of horse racing and pretty ballet dancers, but the RA exhibition will aim to show he was far more than that. "He was a very radical, cutting-edge artist in his day," said the co-curator Ann Dumas.
The artist's preoccupation with ballet dancers is well-known, which makes it all the more surprising that the RA show will be the first significantly large UK exhibition to explore this. Dumas said it could have taken so long because of the popularity of the paintings. "The appeal of these images has, in a way, almost been a barrier to a thorough investigation".
The show also aims to break ground by exploring the development of modern film and photography practices alongside what Degas was attempting in paint and sculpture. "Degas was actually much more skilful at capturing figure and movement than the very first film-makers were. Sometimes Degas was ahead of the game and sometimes he was learning from photographers. There was a give and take process," said Dumas.
Degas never really explained why he painted dancers so much, although he once flippantly said it was because of the pretty dresses. On another occasion he said it was the nearest one could get to the complex movements of the Greeks.
For Dumas, that answer is central to the debate. "Degas loved the art of antiquity. He used to go a lot to the antiquity galleries at the Louvre and look at figures on vases and the patterns of movement you get on classical friezes. He was really interested in the human figure in movement, and complex movement". The artist would observe dancers backstage and in rehearsal rooms.
The Guardian
