Artwork
Yellow Dancers (In the Wings)
Yellow Dancers (In the Wings) is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1875 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About this work
Overview
Completed in 1876, this oil on canvas shows a group of ballerinas in bright yellow costumes poised in the side‑stage area of the Paris Opéra. The composition places the observer among the backstage audience, offering a glimpse of the performers just before they appear onstage. Degas signed the work in time for the second Impressionist exhibition held in April of that year.
Subject & Meaning
Degas turned his attention to ballet in 1871, making dancers a central theme of his practice. By depicting the figures in the wings, he emphasizes the private, preparatory moments of the ballet world, contrasting the public spectacle with the intimate, social atmosphere of the backstage realm frequented by the opera’s subscribers.
Technique & Style
The painting employs Degas’s characteristic loose brushwork and keen observation of anatomy, capturing the tension and fluidity of bodies poised for movement. The bright yellow dresses are rendered with layered, semi‑transparent strokes that suggest the texture of fabric while maintaining a sense of immediacy and spontaneity typical of his late‑1870s oeuvre.
History & Provenance
Degas produced the canvas during a period when nearly half of his artistic output focused on ballet, a subject he studied through extensive attendance at rehearsals and performances. After its completion, the work was exhibited at the second Impressionist show in 1876, marking its entry into the public sphere and subsequent acquisition by a private collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris, Edgar Degas came from an affluent banking family with aristocratic roots and spent his childhood among the cultivated circles of the French capital.
