"The Ballet Class" was one of Edgar Degas' earlier ballet paintings. It depicts an ordinary ballet class; however, there are some elements which seem out of place for a regular class. This oil on canvas was created in 1881 and now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Degas' "The Ballet Class" illustrates a ballet class, apparently, somewhat not according to regular etiquette. There are three girls in the upper left corner who are dancing in juxtaposition. Two seem to be watching the third, which seems somewhat disoriented. There is a man who seems to be the teacher watching the three girls. There is another grouping of dancers off to the right, standing behind the teacher. They are standing, stretching, and not completely paying attention to their surroundings. There is also an old woman who is reading a newspaper, closest to the viewer. The positioning of the characters in the composition is proportional throughout and creates a balance. There is a sharp contrast between the dancers and the woman and teacher because of their colors. The dancers are in light shades, while the others are in much darker values. The light source appears to be natural and coming from the lower right corner because it casts shadows to the upper left of all of the figures. The color scheme of the composition seems to be shades and values of yellows and browns. Mostly earth tones are used in addition to these colors. The perspective of the composition is from the side of the class, viewing the entire studio. The focal point appears to be the seems to be the old woman who is reading the newspaper, most likely because her whole figure is shown and her attire contrasts the brightness of the rest of the composition.
This composition depicts a class, during center, but some elements do not seem right. For example, why is there a woman reading a newspaper? Why isn't she watching the class? Who is she? Also, some of the dancers pose questions that are not answered. For instance, why does one girl have her hair down? The girl that is currently dancing seems as if she is off balance or going to fall, is she? "The Ballet Class" uses sharp contrasts between colors, the curiosity of the viewer, and the dancers' disobedient characteristics to attract the eye.
