Auburn Clouds of Jealousy: Artwork emmers

            The famous painter that I chose to study was Edgar Degas. He was born is Paris, France in 1834 to a musical family. His mother was an opera singer and his father liked to arrange home recitals his father was also an art lover and was encouraged by his father to start painting. He went to Lycée Louis-le-Grand School. His mother died when he was 13 and he kept his moms wedding dress. Edgar Degas’ first paintings were called “copies” because he copied the masterpieces of other great artists as practice; most of the paintings he copied were classical paintings. Then he went to Ecole Des Beaux-Art in Paris but he only stayed for a year and he left and decided to visit Italy to study there. Also he copied many Da Vinci and Michelangelo paintings. Then he decided that he wanted to paint things that were more modern and different. He spent a lot of his time painting and sculpting and photographic horses, Dancers and naked women bathing.

 

         The painting I chose to observe is called “ Le Pas Battu” the painting has two ballerinas in it: one is smiling and her tutu’s fuller than the other dancer and her arms are in 5^th high there’s this auburn color in the background near her that reminds me of fire, the other dancer has her hands on her hips, with a scowl, she’s background in blue and black and colors in this painting are very contrasting its almost like its on fire in have of the drawing but in a small corner there are cooler colors as if its water putting out a fire which I think is interesting, because being a dancer sometimes when your on stage its like you’re the star and your burning hot with adrenaline simply just enjoying yourself , caught in the moment. Like the dancer who is elaborately dressed in flowers. Who’s the one is “ on fire” and there’s always some one there to “ cool you off” because the moment got too intense.         

What I can interpret from this painting is this fiery scene is being cooled down by the dancer with the scowl while the other is enjoying the feeling of the fire.

I think this painting could be a symbol of jealousy. Because some of Edgar Degas’ quotes mentioned a star, and he always focused on the star of the performance in most of his dance paintings most of the other dancers that weren’t in spotlight were blocked out by the auburn clouds of jealousy that Degas painted with oil pastel. The only twist in this painting is that this one has the auburn color around what seems to be the star and the bluefish more calm color is around someone who might be one of the girls who are jealous. Another interpretation that I made was maybe since in other paintings other dancers are hidden between the orange like color it could symbolize a dancer who usually doesn’t get to be the star bursts through the barrier between stardom and background and is finally the star and the second dancer could be the star getting pushed of her pedestal.

I really can’t choose a solid meaning of this painting because there are so many possibilities. The situation could be portrayed in away really the only thing that I can make stand for something are the colors I just don’t know what the actual scene is depicting but all I can conclude is that Degas created a mind boggler. 


Source: Loumaye, Jacqueline, Edgar Degas, and Nadine Massart. "Pg 11-3." Degas: The Painted Gesture. New York: Chelsea House, 1994. Print.