Degas at the Opéra, Three Nude Dancers, c. 1903

KAYWIN FELDMAN: This work is a study, not a drawing to exhibit or sell. The dancers are removed from any context. Here, and in the nearby drawings, we see Degas observing the body in motion. JULIE KENT: Dancers are obsessed with improvement. Every day, we expect a level of improvement in ourselves. And knowing that you are aspiring for something that you may never attain, that’s the whole point. (Laughs) KAYWIN FELDMAN: Degas shared that obsession with dancers. He practiced depicting certain ballet positions and gestures repeatedly until he got them right. At the far right, a dancer bends over, perhaps to massage a sore muscle or put on a slipper. It’s a familiar pose for Degas. KIMBERLY SCHENCK: You might see the same figure in a pastel that you then see later in a painting. Degas often drew with charcoal and pastel on a smooth, transparent tracing paper. Using transparent paper allowed Degas to trace figures from one drawing to another sheet. He could trace the same dancer and place her in different compositions and figure groupings. KAYWIN FELDMAN: The charcoals allowed Degas to make quick studies of movement and they give us a chance to see his working process. Conservator Kimberly Schenck points to evidence of alterations in the figure on the far left. KIMBERLY SCHENCK: He moved her leg several times, you can see little traces of his original lightly applied charcoal marks at the far edge, the heel of her foot, for example. KAYWIN FELDMAN: In the figure in the middle, there are signs of changes here, too. KIMBERLY SCHENCK: Again, you can see this halo of rubbed charcoal, implying that Degas rubbed away his original lines and redrew the outlines of her arms, especially her left arm, which is in a bent shape. You can see residue of the original lines that he made.