Dancer Adjusting her Slipper, Edgar Degas
Pencil on colored paper, 13×10 inches (33x24cm). In the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Degas did numerous studies, drawings, pastels and paintings of dancers preparing; this seemingly simple pencil drawing has always been one of my favorites.
Straightforward and direct, we see Degas seeking out his model’s form and gesture, reworking the hand position, adjusting the line of the foot, and — apparently satisfied with the result — squaring up the drawing for transfer.
I’m not aware, however, of a finished pastel or painting using this pose.
