Edgar Degas, Russian Dancers, 1899, charcoal and pastel on tracing paper, mounted on cardboard, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A painting is above all a product of the artist’s imagination. It must never be a copy. If, at a later stage, he wants to add two or three touches from nature, of course, it doesn’t spoil anything.*
Edgar Degas
French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) not only created depictions of ballerinas in the studio and on-stage; his fascination with dance also extended to a series of pastels inspired by Russian dancers done in the 1890s.
*L’univers de Degas, Maurice Serullaz
