Edgar Degas

Steinberg’s essay, “The Philosophical Brothel,” of 1972 was a new account of Picasso’s masterwork, Les Demoiselles d’Avignion [Fig. 13]. Steinberg roots his analysis of the painting in its relationship to the viewer. Steinberg extends the role of the viewer until it is he who completes the painting as the male solicitor of the women in the painting: “The picture is a tidal wave of female aggression; one either experiences the Demoiselles as an onslaught, or shuts it off. But the assault on the viewer is only half of the action, for the viewer, as the painting conceives him on this side of the picture plane, repays in kind.”98 The horizontality of the flatbed picture plane, and the new content it allows, makes the viewer’s role an active

Despite evident differences in the compositional elements of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, both utilise a composition with a shallow plane to distort visual perception in their work. This distortion promotes the spectator to revaluate the way they perceive these female prostitute subjects. Picasso’s treatment of paint and use blocked colours in Les Demoiselles creates the sensation of a flat, two-dimensional image, signifying a radical break from traditional modes of representation. The lack of depth in the painting pushes the figures of female prostitutes on top of each other, layering the stark angles and sharp forms that make up their bodies. In addition, this layering on such a large scale (243.9 cm × 233 cm) creates a feeling that the figures are pushing beyond the boundaries of the work and imposing themselves onto the spectator. Furthermore, the stances of the prostitutes, who are dramatically flaunting their bodies with arms raised and torsos presented openly, fills the frame, refusing the spectator to accesses to other areas of the image. Instead the female figures dominate the attention of the viewer, in some ways empowering these figures who previously lacked representation. These formal elements of composition all come together in Les Demoiselles to challenge the spectator’s ways of viewing the females in the work.

Mrs. Farrell’s book is quite technical when it comes to the lengthy descriptions of the dances she rehearses and performs; from a dancer’s view these varied conclusions of the types of movements she was dancing is quite astonishing. In fact, it adds a whole new level to the imagination that can come alive in a person’s thoughts when they read an expressive book. Although the technical explanations will excited, astound, and reveal how much passion and deep meaning ballet had in Suzanne Farrell’s life, but a reader, who may not be involved in the arts will be unfamiliar with the ballet and musical terms in

As a piece of choreography, “La Petite Mort” expresses the motifs of sexuality and death through the contrasts between levels of energy, confidence, and elevation. Translating directly from French to “little death”, the phrase “petite mort” also serves as a French idiom representing sexual climax. The comparison of the supposed pleasure of a sexual act, and act associated with creation, with death evokes strong emotions for both dancers and audience members alike. The piece runs for approximately seventeen minutes and consists of twelve dancers, six males and six females, and a wide array of symbolic props, including swords (foils), dresses that stand without support, and more. The tension and lack thereof between dancers and between a dancer and his or her prop can be felt palpably by the audience. Between sections of the piece, the male dancers carry an enormous cloth which glides through the air gracefully like a scarf, and the lights dim, creating a sense of mystery which is consistent with the feelings of the audience in trying to figure out how to deal with these two conflicting ideas.

One of the reasons I chose this work of literature was because of how Dos Pasos wrote it talking about this young man. When He writes,” The young man walks fast by himself through the crowd that thins into the night streets” (1271). This takes my back to when I was growing up I had more friends than I do now. As people walk

During my time surfing through the vast waves of the internet I had actually found one really interesting project that was funded by the World Bank. So apparently the World Bank had funded this project to pave a 900 mile road that opened the western Amazon to the rest of the people of Brazil, the road was known as BR-364. In the article I read we followed the life of one Antonio Carlos de Santos and a whopping 34 of his relatives who somehow fit all of them and their belongings on a truck headed for a chance at a better life. Now, back to the story at hand, things sound pretty dandy so far. The less fortunate people of Brazil would have a chance to go and make a living for themselves by using the land for farming, even the government along with some small private companies could use the enriched grounds to their advantage too.

Edgar Degas once stated, “A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people” (Frank). Degas style of painting reflects this quotation from him. He keeps a yearning within the audience to understand the true meaning of his paintings. The mystery of his paintings is part of the reason that he is popular. This paper will discuss the painting The Interior, and why it fits the mystery of Degas.

De Mille felt that dance should behave in relation to the world around it; that dance should not be ambiguous and abstract, but accessible and understandable (Acocella). De Mille’s choreography followed a narrative form and featured overt aspects of American culture; consequently, her work carried the potential for easy consumption by an American audience. One critic wrote of her work, “…Full of fire, even funny, and entirely free of swans!” (Acocella). De Mille’s works was refreshing in that, unlike more classical, abstract ballet, it did not perpetuate the artistic traditions of another nation’s culture; instead, it paved the way for the creation of our own artistic traditions.

Their dancers connect with the dance tradition embodying feelings of existential human anguish and references to specific geographic places, dancing focused on surreal situations, body use and the relationships between stage and

Influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, stated that “the human body is the best picture of the human soul.” A great example of the human body portraying the soul is through the art of ballet. From the Cambridge Dictionary Online, ballet can be defined as “a type of dancing in which controlled movements of the body are designed to express the beauty of physical motion, often while telling a story, or a piece of music for such dancing.” With ballet’s long history, it has shifted through various eras of time, including Ballet de Cour, Opera Ballet, Romanticism, Classical, Russian Imperialism, and the current modern era. All of which are characterized by particular ballets, prominent people, and various other theatrical elements. However, as the art of ballet evolved through the different eras, the emotions, messages, and nonverbal cues of each ballet changed to fit the societal norms and standards.

Hilaire German Edgar Degas was born in Paris, France on July 19, 1834. He was the son of Auguste de Gas, a banker, and Celestine Musson de Gas, an American from New Orleans. Edgar was the oldest of the five children Auguste and Celestine had. Their family was members of the middle class, however, for many years their family spelled their name “de Gas” which thanks to the preposition “de” suggested that their family was from a land-owning aristocratic background. It wasn’t until 1870 that Edgar changed his name to the less aristocratic sounding “Degas.”

“Ballet was an expression of a belief in hierarchy and in the truth of social distinction. The noble style was thus proof of an old social fact: kings and noblemen were, by the grace of God, more elevated than the rest, and they danced in a way that proved it.” Ballet changed society through its own development, in the range of social and political associations with being a noble or comic dancer diminished, and by the 1830s male dancers were disgraced by the 1840s they were banished from Parisian stages. Ballet as of the 1850s has created society to dethrone the male, crown the female within the art as the leader and dominant figure, and cause them to not be revived until the twentieth century. With male dancers out of the spotlight, the ballerinas begin to rise.

Although the term “dream ballet” is often applied to dance not within the ballet style, it is important to consider why early choreographers utilizing this form specifically selected ballet. Due to the theatricality of ballet, its use helps to enhance the function of expressing something when words are not enough As a style, ballet benefits these sort of more-than-real-life sequences “due to its heightened narrative capabilities in contrast to many other varieties of dance” (Petermann 98). And it is those narrative qualities of ballet that keep the term as “dream ballet” and not something else. As part of the function of dream ballets is to expose something more about the narrative, “it’s natural to refer to such interludes as dream ballets,

The drapery covering the body of the dancer is also wrapped around the figure’s head and face, hence “masked”, with only eyes peeking through. There are no characteristic or unique features of the dancer that would make her identifiable; the perpetual figure is an important concept of this piece. The figure remains anonymous, drawing the attention to her athletic body. There is a certain sentiment of mystery and intrigue created by the namelessness nature of the figure. Consequently, the dancer is not an important member of society, as those who are important have their most recognizable features exaggerated. Instead, the importance lies in the dynamism expressed, in lieu of personal

The subject of The Dance Lesson by Edgar Degas appears to be ballerinas or dancers standing around waiting or getting prepared, such as stretching and tying bows, for their dance class or lesson to start. The dancers are all sitting, standing down, and stretching instead of dancing, so it seems they are waiting for their instructor to start the dance class. This painting seems to have taken place in a ballerina or dance studio. It appears to be a wide room with wooden floors to dance on and in the background it appears to be a mirror with a pole attached, like you would see in a regular dance studio.