Degas, Painter of Ballerinas

This nonfiction book examines Edgar Degas’s paintings of ballet dancers and the work that lay behind them. At the opera, Degas watched young students working behind the scenes, then returned to their poses repeatedly in his drawings. His pictures trace dancers from demanding practice through appearances onstage. Along with this look at the ballet world through Impressionist art, the book supplies a short account of Degas’s life. Endnotes, a bibliography, locations for viewing his paintings, and an index provide additional context.