Paris France
Degas Blue Dancers hung in a dimly lit alcove in Musee d Orsay in Paris in 2005. . It was bathed in soft light and hung safely behind glass. To see the pastel in person brought insight that previous photographs of the art work had not. The soft blue pastel rested on the rough toothed paper much like chalk on a sidewalk. At a distance, the viewer might conclude that the brown hue in the shadows of the work was also achieved with pastels. However, taking a closer glance one would notice that the artist had allowed the brown pastel paper to show thru and represent itself as one of the colors in the work. Did the artist see the finished piece before he began? He must have. Otherwise , how would he have known where to strategically place the blue pastel? Each stroke of the varied shades blue also seemed premeditated. The light blue brought the feeling of light on the ballerinas costumes, while the darker blues provided a value for folds in the netting. The neon turqouise seemed to float above the rough textured surface. It moved the viewers eyes back and forth between the soft powder of the pastels and the dark textured surface of the paper, It was much like a blue cloud hovering over a dark barren landscape. The contrast was captivating, Degas use of complementary color was also a visual treat. The red orange hair of the dancers balanced beautifully with the light blue and turqouise in the ballerinas tutu's. The dancers skin tones read as a multi colored palette up close but melded seamlessly into a creamy conclusion at a distance, The ballerinas filled the page, They were stunning. They were a group of performers. But feeling so close to them in this piece, one soon saw they were individual women. Degas was known for his compassion for them and their lot in life. Perhaps that is the deeper message here.