Degas at the Opera

The first book devoted to Degas’s depictions of the people and performances at the Op�ra de Paris Edgar Degas (1834–1917) is celebrated as ‘the painter of dancers’, a subject that dominated his art for nearly four decades. Although there have been many books and exhibitions celebrating his love of the ballet, this volume is the first to consider his enduring fascination with the Paris Op�ra. Celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Op�ra’s founding, Degas at the Op�ra presents approximately 100 of the artist’s best-known and beloved works in a range of media, including paintings, pastels, drawings, prints and sculpture. A music lover and regular visitor to performances, Degas explored both the public spaces of the Op�ra – auditorium, stage and boxes – as well as more private ones, including dance studios and backstage. He immortalized the players in this dazzling universe in such paintings as La Loge, La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans and Le Foyer de la Danse. They and many other works are reproduced here, accompanied by texts by a distinguished team of art historians.