Swaying Dancer Dancer in Green Edgar Degas Tissue Paper

Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green) by Edgar Degas, pastel and gouache on paper 1877-1879, is a painting of a young ballerina viewed from the front, side stage, performing a complex dance move standing on one leg with arms extended. In the foreground of the tall, vertical composition, the legs and tutu of another dancer are cropped as if in a photograph. Behind the dancers a line of dancers in orange costumes await to perform. Degas uses his knowledge of movement, sense of realism, and precise classical drawing to construct an elaborate, kinetic composition that captures a fleeting moment of time and artistic movement. Degas deeply identified and empathized with the work and long hours of practice of dancers, who were the subject of nearly half of his art.