Edgar Degas - The Star

The Star (L'Étoile), made between 1879 and 1881 in pastel on cream wove paper mounted on board by French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas. A principal dancer commands the composition while surrounding performers and stage elements are reduced to secondary shapes, sharpening the contrast between solo display and the larger machinery of ballet. Degas uses pastel to build the costume and stage light from layered strokes, allowing edges to remain lively rather than polished. The slightly elevated, cropped viewpoint places the viewer at an oblique angle instead of directly in front of the performer. As in many of his images of star dancers, the apparent instant of performance is carefully balanced against the partial figures and spaces that reveal the stage as a working environment.