Painting: Dance Class, Edgar Degas (1871)

Like most of the dancers in Degas's works, these ballerinas are not performing. Degas has caught them in the unglamorous environs of the dancing classroom.

The overall composition is marvelously complex and fluid. One's eyes settle on the students and the violin player gathering around a piano on the left, and travel to the big standing mirror on the center, to the dancer performing her skill, then to the two girls doing exercise behind her, and finally to the door at the back right. There, Degas added a point of interest also: a dancer leaning his head against the wall. A curious pose that can make the viewer wonder of what she might be doing there.

The standing mirror at the center serves a number of compositional functions. The reflection of more dancers continues the rhythmic line of the dancers in the foreground and middle ground and gives an impression of depth, that there are actually more dancers outside the frame. In his paintings, Degas always thinks ‘beyond’ the frame. This gives an impression that the painting is broader than the size of the canvas itself.

The violin case at the foreground ‘steals’ viewer’s attention while exploring the other main objects. It also acts as a balancing element, so that the floor would not look too spacey. Notice a watering can at the front left corner which seems to be misplaced there. But the green color of the can repeats on the big mirror on the wall gives a nice balance.

We can see that the composition of this painting is carefully planned. That's what makes Degas a Master in composition.