General information about Edgar Degas and the Waiting
The painting by French artist Edgar Degas, the Waiting, was created from 1880 to 1882. The work is painted with pastel on paper. The size of the painting is 19 x 24 in. (48.3 x 61 cm). The style of Waiting may be defined as Impressionism. The work by Degas represents two women, a dancer, and a chaperone sitting on the bench. The dancer wears a traditional costume of a ballet dancer, and the chaperone wears a black dress, black hat, she holds a black umbrella in her hands. The chaperone sits crossing her arms orthogonally, while the dancer rounds her back and massages her lag. The painting is divided into two parts. The lower part is empty, while two women occupy the upper part of the Waiting.
I visited the museum and observed the Waiting on November, 3. I could not but think about the place of ballet and women in the works of Degas.
Formal Analysis of the Painting
The whole work is performed on the contrast of light and dark colors. For example, the dancer’s cloth is white, while everything that the chaperone wears is black, even the umbrella. The composition of the Waiting is rather simple. Degas depicted two women sitting on a bench and doing nothing but waiting for something. Other elements of the painting are the wall and wooden floor which are also in contrast to each other. The floor is lighter than the wall. There is a shadow on the right side of the Waiting, but it is not clear who or what is its owner. Degas depicted not only elements of the women’s clothes, but also the lines of the hands, fingers, and the whole appearance. It is obvious from the positions of the women that they are not eager to communicate with each other: the chaperone looks straight before her, perhaps at the floor, her look does not express pensiveness. Perhaps, she is thinking about her life. What is more interesting is that Degas does not show the eyes of two women: the face of the chaperone is half hidden by the hat, while the face of the dancer is unseen because she looks straight at the floor. Nevertheless, both women are moody. Maybe, the dancer is upset about the trauma and the fact that she cannot dance, and the chaperone is sad about her life. Yet, it is just a supposition. Nevertheless, the whole mood of Waiting is highlighted not only by the figures of the women but coloring and composition of the painting. The fact that Degas places two women aside, but not in the center of the painting, is a hint that they both are aside of life: the only thing which unites the dancer and the chaperone is their status, outsider. They both have a dream: the young lady dreams to become a professional dancer. The chaperone dreams to change her life. Still, their dreams are unrealizable at this moment. In such aspect the colors of their clothes can be a uniting factor: black and white are two sides of one coin.
Historical events which influenced Degas
French Impressionism was a popular art movement in the nineteenth century. The influence of French Impressionists, as well as the place of Degas in the destiny of French Impressionism, cannot be overestimated. Still, the painter admitted that his works could not be treated as samples of Impressionism (Vollard 115).
Speaking about the period when Degas created the Waiting, it should be pointed out that due to the fact the painter lived in the United States since the 1870s, and had no opportunity to visit theaters and ballets (it was a popular activity in France), Degas focused his attention on such themes as theatrical and ballet life:
“At a time when the best of his contemporaries had swung over to open-air painting, he focused his attention on typically Parisian scenes: the theater, both on stage and off, the cafĂ©-concerts, the ballet. Every figure he painted–musicians, singers, dancers, spectators–he caught from an unusual, a revealing angle” (Fosca 42).
Of course, the choice of the theme was predetermined by the recent social movements, feminism in particular. Still, one should not forget about the political position of the painter, he was a liberal, and ideas of feminism were antithetic to his views (Broude and Garrard null10).
Asymmetry is the technique of dynamics
Unlike many French Impressionists, Degas was not afraid of experiments: he experimented with themes, colors, tones, shapes, etc (Uhde, and Goldscheider 31). In the Waiting the painter resorted to the asymmetric composition, it added dynamics to the painting, although both ladies were sitting in the picture. The ability of Degas to catch the images and draw every detail of his painting became a characteristic feature of his style. This phenomenon is traced to Waiting. The lines of the hands, the figures of the women are very clear, unlike the background.
Conclusion
As well as other paintings by Impressionists the Waiting shows less than means. It invites the viewer to start a conversation and complete the concept of the painting. Of course, the historical events and personal experience of Degas could not but influence the choice of theme and techniques of painting. Still, Impressionism is distinguished by its ambiguity and incompleteness of images which make the trend a unique and enigmatic phenomenon in the history of art.
Works Cited
Broude, Norma, and Mary D. Garrard, eds. The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992.
Fosca, Francois. Degas. Trans. James Emmons. Geneva: Albert Skira, 1954.
Uhde, Wilhelm, and Ludwig Goldscheider. The Impressionists. Vienna: The Phaidon Press, 1937.
Vollard, Ambroise. Degas: An Intimate Portrait. Trans. Randolph T. Weaver. New York: Crown Publishers, 1937.