Degas at the Opéra, Young Spartan Girls Challenging Boys, c. 1860– 1862, reworked prior to 1880

KAYWIN FELDMAN: A cluster of four girls at left wear half-tunics, not tutus, as they move across the plain of Sparta, not the stage. Degas was fascinated by the ancient city-state of Sparta. He poured over ancient Greek chronicles that told of a time and a place where regimented exercise was part of education and where girls were taught to dance, sing, run, and throw, alongside boys. At first glance, the link between this early history painting and later pictures of the Paris Opéra may not seem apparent. But Degas considered this his first ballet scene—even though it is not derived from a ballet or theater performance of any type. KIMBERLY JONES: What Degas seemed really fascinated by, was this notion that for the Spartans, exercise, dance, wasn’t about entertainment, it wasn’t about leisure. It was about discipline. It was about control. It was about honing the body. And for Degas, that is the connection. In the Spartan youths, what he is seeing are dancers. KAYWIN FELDMAN: Degas began painting this work around 1860. He reworked it for more than twenty years and displayed it prominently on an easel in his studio for guests to see. KIMBERLY JONES: Why is Degas doing this? Well, it goes back, in many ways, to the subject itself, of [the Spartan youths. In this painting of ancient figures, Degas is evoking the modern ballerina, the modern dancer who is the greatest of athletes. She might be wearing a tutu but that same sense of focus and determination and discipline to turn her body into the perfect form underlies both images.