Edgar Degas

Edgar degas was born in 1834 Paris, France. During this time Paris was the art center of the world. Edgar grew up in a wealthy family. His father owned and operated a bank. Edgar’s father, Mr. degas liked art so much he took Edgar to many art museums and galleries. This is when Edgar became interested in art himself. Edgar soon discovered how much he like to paint, and one of his many favorite subjects to paint was ballet.

            Bouquets of flowers are traditional gifts to give to dancers before and after a performance.             Either sent to the dressing room or presented to the dancer at curtain call or afterward, a bouquet of flowers is cherished by dancers because the gift shows appreciation for their hard work. While any type of flower will be accepted and enjoyed, some flowers have special meaning and are most appropriate to give to ballerinas. This is one of the reasons Edgar painted the ballerina holding a bouquet of flowers, to symbolize that she had given a great performance. One of Edgar Degas’s favorite things to paint were the ballet. Whether it was a painting of ballerinas rehearsing for a play, or ballet dancers performing on stage.  

 Dancer with a bouquet of flowers 1878, painted by Edgar Degas

I chose this particular painting to write about because I felt so connected with it. Ever since I was a little girl I have always dreamed about being a ballerina. Seeing this painting of a woman dancing ballet and fulfilling my biggest dream makes me believe that that could be me one day. In the painting she looks truly happy and not as if she were pretending to fit the character. She looks like she belongs there, on that stage at that moment. She doesn’t care what people think about her, or how good they thought her dancing was, because just being on that stage makes her feel incredible. She dances as if she were the only one and the world and no one was watching. And although the look on the audience’s  face may seem snobby, she smiles back at them and proceeds to dance. She shines so brightly on the stage, it makes me wonder if she’s always this happy? Or maybe when she’s not dancing she’s different. A sad lonely person who only waits until she can dance again. As if it’s the only that makes her happy, as if it’s the only thing worth living for. But when the day comes for her to shine like a star, there is no one and nothing that’s as beautiful as the way dancing makes her feel