Degas and the Dance: The Painter and the Petits Rats, Perfecting their Art

A great artist offers every young ballerina an invitation to the dance.

The dance paintings of Edgar Degas are beloved around the world. For the first time, here is a book that reveals the intriguing world of ballet dancers behind the scenes-as shown exclusively through the life and work of Degas.

Observing the young students, called petits rats, Degas discovered that ballet training is much like creating art: it takes hard work and practice. As the "little rats" repeated their steps, Degas drew their poses again and again, for like the ballerinas, he was determined to achieve perfection. More than 30 Degas paintings and drawings capture each step of the journey from little girl to prima ballerina in this absorbing picture-book biography.

Grade 2-5-Degas created more than a thousand ballet pictures during his career. He spent hours behind the scenes at the Paris Opera and had dancers pose in his studio. Most of them were poor, working-class girls, hence the nickname "petits rats." He illustrated the hard work behind the finished product, showing ballerinas rehearsing, warming up, stretching, and even waiting before an exam. Just as the dancers practiced the same positions over and over again, so did Degas draw them repeatedly. Full-color reproductions of sketches and preparatory drawings are included as well as finished paintings in oil and pastel. Rubin's narrative focuses exclusively on the artist and the dance, with additional biographical material included at the end. Quotes from the painter and his friends enliven the text. The bibliography includes books about ballet as well as about Degas. This is a lovely book, one for dancers as much as for art appreciation.
Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. Noting that Edgar Degas created over 1,000 pictures of dancers, this large-format volume presents the artist as an observer and painter of ballet. The phrase "Petits Rats" in the subtitle refers to the young dancers in training, who were models for Degas' sketches, paintings, and sculpture. The compact, quite readable text, printed in large type, takes readers into the rehearsal studios with Degas. Quotations from the artist and his friends bring immediacy to the presentation. Though no sources are given for the quotations, a bibliography is appended, along with a two-page biography of the artist and detailed source notes about the pictures reproduced in the book. The excellent reproductions of these drawings and paintings will attract both art and dance lovers to the book, for it celebrates the intersection of the two arts. Excellent captions identify and date each picture, as well as comment on the medium, the composition, or the people and actions portrayed. A book with great visual appeal. Carolyn Phelan
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