For the Impressionists, Japan represented a departure from ‘the West’ and all that was familiar when in 1854 it reopened to the world after more than 200 years of near isolation. Creative exchange between France and Japan had a profound effect on art and design — and sparked the development of entirely new aesthetic movements. Artists were captivated by woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e, meaning ‘pictures of the floating world’, characterised by flat areas of colour, defined outlines, cropped, asymmetrical compositions and a lack of horizon lines, these prints often featured everyday scenes.
Artists such as Edgar Degas (19 July 1834–1917) and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864–1901) pioneered a new artistic language to record the world around them, drawing inspiration on the rapidly modernising city of Paris, with its opera and ballet, dance halls, cafes, theatres and brothels, depicting singers, dancers, and cabaret performers. By the end of the nineteenth century, Paris was a vibrant cultural centre to which artists, writers, publishers and art dealers flocked, adding to the energy of the city.
The Paris of Edgar Degas
Favouring indoor scenes, Degas looked to the leisure activities of the bourgeoisie or middle class, subjects which were often ordinary scenes from contemporary life. In Trois danseuses a la classe de danse (Three dancers at a dance class) c.1888-90 (illustrated) the artist vividly captures dancers in their quieter moments.
Degas produced numerous works of ballerinas — both on the auditorium stage performing or behind the scenes in rehearsal rooms, and preparing to dance — and what fascinated the artist was exploring the human figure in movement and the lovely soft hues of the dancers’ costumes.
Edgar Degas ‘Trois danseuses a la classe de danse’ c.1888-90
Degas was obsessed with the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, the company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera, both artistic forms important to the cultural life that contributed to the modern image of the city. The lavish new 1,979-seat opera house, the venue that played a leading role in the artist’s practice, opened in 1875 (illustrated) — named the Salle des Capucines — because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement, however later became known as — the Palais Garnier — in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.
Rehearsal rooms, Paris Opera Ballet c.1905
Paris Opera House
Edgar Degas’ Trois danseuses a la classe de danse is on display within the Queensland Art Gallery’s International Art Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries (7-9).
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