The Ballet from Robert le Diable: Degas’s 1871 Painting

Moonlit ballet among cloister arches above a dark opera audience, with a man using opera glasses in the foreground Buy Art Prints Now
from Amazon

* As an Amazon Associate, and partner with Google Adsense and Ezoic, I earn from qualifying purchases.


by
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on September 28, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000

Degas Ballet Scene From Robert La Diable: Introduction

The stage glows above a mass of dark heads. Pale dancers move among arches that look like a ruined cloister, but Degas gives much of the lower half of the painting to spectators in the opera house. This is Edgar Degas’s 1871 The Ballet from “Robert le Diable”, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession 29.100.552. Its compact, upright format distinguishes it from a later, wider treatment of the same subject in London. [1][2] [4] [5]

The scene comes from the third act of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Robert le Diable. According to the Met, dead nuns rise and dance amid moonlit monastery ruins. Degas lets us see that supernatural spectacle at a distance, through the heads and shoulders of people watching it. One man near the centre directs his opera glasses away from the stage and towards the audience, a small action that redirects the painting's attention from drama to the social act of looking. [1]

The work at a glance

  • ArtistEdgar Degas (1834–1917)
  • Met titleThe Ballet from “Robert le Diable”
  • Date1871, Met dating; 1872 inscribed and exhibited
  • MediumOil on canvas
  • Dimensions66 × 54.3 cm
  • CollectionMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York
  • CreditH. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Accession29.100.552

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. At a Glance
  3. A ballet seen across the house
  4. The opera inside the painting
  5. Date and the second version
  6. Darkness, distance and attention

A ballet seen across the house

The stage is set above the dark horizontal edge of the orchestra or audience area. Large arches recede into gloom; a few catch yellow light. Ghostly white costumes move in a loose line below them. Even at the brightest points, the performers remain small and indistinct compared with the nearby spectators. This imbalance is central to the composition. Degas paints the experience of attending the opera as well as the ballet within it. [1]

The man with binoculars sits close to the centre of the foreground group. We can follow the angle of his hands and glasses, but their destination is outside the frame. The Met interprets his turned gaze as indifference to the performance and a glance at the audience. That reading fits the painting's larger split between spectacle and spectators; the exact person being watched is not shown. [1]

Other faces appear as fragments. Some are turned towards the stage, while others are buried in shadow or blocked by a neighbouring figure. Their close arrangement makes the lower half dense, almost a single band of dark coats and heads. Above them, the bright stage opens into a different world of arches, costumes and feigned moonlight. The two zones depend on each other: the dancers' pale shapes are more striking because the audience is so dark. [1]

The opera inside the painting

Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable premiered decades before Degas made this picture. The Met dates the opera's age at about forty years in 1871 and identifies this episode as the third-act ballet of the dead nuns. Degas was interested enough in it to make more than one painting. The subject also allowed him to show an elaborate theatrical illusion from the viewpoint of someone seated in the house. [1]

The ruined cloister is scenery, not a real medieval building. The arches give the dancers a dark setting, while their lit costumes create the suggestion of figures appearing from the shadows. The picture does not explain the opera's whole plot. It selects a brief spectacle and places it behind the modern crowd who have paid to see it. This is why the painting can be read both as an opera image and as an observation of Parisian leisure. [1]

Degas does not give the performers a clear, central formation. Their bodies are interrupted by the orchestra edge and softened by distance. The audience, by contrast, is rendered as near, weighty shapes. The image asks the viewer to peer past the people in front, much as an actual spectator might. That partial view is an artistic decision, not a failed record of choreography. [1]

Watch: Edgar Degas

Explore his paintings, drawings and sculpture in three short videos.

Date and the second version

The Met dates this canvas 1871 and says it was exhibited in early 1872, the year inscribed on it. These are not competing claims about two separate objects: the museum distinguishes the making date from the inscribed exhibition year. The painting entered the Met as part of the Havemeyer bequest and carries accession 29.100.552. [1]

Degas later made a larger version for the singer Jean-Baptiste Faure, who performed in the opera. That 1876 oil is now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, accession CAI.19. The V&A lists it in its paintings collection, and the Degas catalogue records it as MS381. The London composition is wider, showing more of the orchestra and a larger sweep of the stage. The portrait-format Met work is separate from the wider London painting. [1][2][3]

The distinction matters because the two works share nearly the same title and subject. The New York canvas has the Met's 1871 date and Havemeyer history; the wider London picture has its own 1876 date and collection history. Comparing their formats and accession numbers keeps the two painted views of the opera separate. [1][2][3]

Darkness, distance and attention

Much of the paint surface appears dark brown, black and muted green. Small, light passages make the stage visible and pick out profiles or collars below. The brightest zone is not a single leading dancer; light is dispersed across the scenery and pale figures. The composition therefore withholds the sort of clear star portrait a viewer might expect from a ballet painting. [1]

Look first at the arches, then at the ghostly group beneath them. Let your eye drop to the man with opera glasses, and notice how he sends your attention away from the scene. Degas has placed one act of watching inside another. The painting makes the audience part of its subject, while the opera's supernatural story continues at a distance. [1]

Artworks directory

A selected index of documented works, combining owner records with entries sampled across Michel Schulman’s digital catalogue raisonné. It is not a complete catalogue. View the full catalogue

406 artworks

NameDateMedium
>Group of dancers (MS 77)1893Pastel
[Self-Portrait with Christine and Yvonne Lerolle]probably 1895–96Photograph
A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?)1865Oil painting
Achille de Gas as midshipman (MS 718)1857Painting
Achille Degas (MS 715)1864Painting
After the bath - Woman Drying Herself (MS 1038)1888—1892Pastel
After the bath (MS 1037)1893Pastel
After the bath (MS 1046)1905Pastel
After the bath (MS 1060)1895Pastel
After the bath (MS 1061)1898Pastel
After the bath (MS 1062)1895Pastel
After the bath (MS 1063)1896Painting
After the bath (MS 1064)1896Painting
After the bath (MS 1065)1896Painting
After the bath (MS 1391)1900Pastel
After the bath (MS 1402)1888Pastel
After the bath (MS 1744)1886Pastel
Arlequin et danseuses (MS 2224)1884Pastel
At the café Châteaudun (MS 1913)1869—1871Painting
At the horse track (MS 1929)1869—1872Painting
At the Milliner's1881Pastel
At the milliner's (MS 2587)1882—1885Painting
At the milliner's (MS 562)1882Pastel
At the milliner's (MS 565)1882Pastel
At the milliner's (MS 567)1885Painting
At the races (MS 85)1861Painting
At the races - Jockeys (MS 92)1868Painting
At the races - The start. (MS 98)1860Painting
Auguste de Gas (MS 1243)1857Painting
Autumn landscape (MS 1403)1890Pastel
Ballet Dancers in the Wingsc. 1890–1900Pastel
Ballet scene (MS 452)1885Painting
Ballet scene (MS 454)1896Painting
Ballet scene (MS 458)1887—1890Pastel
Bather Drying Herselfc. 1883–84Pastel
Beach at low tide (MS 1730)1869Pastel
Beach at low tide (MS 1742)1869Pastel
Beach at low tide (MS 1907)1869Pastel
Beach at low tide (MS 1915)1869Pastel
Beach at low tide (MS 2070)1869Pastel
Before the race (MS 73)1882Painting
Before the race (MS 74)1882Painting
Before the race (MS 81)1884Pastel
Before the race (MS 82)1885Pastel
Before the race (MS 86)1884Painting
Before the start (MS 78)1885Pastel
Boat at low tide (MS 1407)1869Pastel
Breakfast after the bath (MS 1039)1890Pastel
Breakfast after the bath (MS 1565)1895—1898Pastel
Bust of a woman (MS 869)1887—1890Painting
By the seashore (MS 1917)1869Pastel
Calm sea seen from a cliff (MS 1741)1869Painting
Chatting (MS 2061)1882—1885Pastel
Cliff on the seashore (MS 1230)1869Pastel
Cliff on the seashore (MS 671)1869Pastel
Copy after "The Finding of Moses" by Véronèse (MS 1401)1860Painting
Criminals physiognomies (MS 858)1881Pastel
Crouching nude woman from behind (MS 1235)1876Pastel
Dance exercises (MS 270)1891Pastel
Dancer (MS 282)1899Pastel
Dancer (MS 492)1880—1885Pastel
Dancer adjusting her bodice (MS 1576)1875Painting
Dancer adjusting her bodice (MS 293)1890Painting
Dancer adjusting her shoulder strap (MS 283)1899Pastel
Dancer adjusting her shoulder strap (MS 285)1889—1896Pastel
Dancer adjusting her shoulder straps (MS 275)1896—1899Pastel
Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper1873Graphite and chalk
Dancer adjusting her slipper (MS 1588)1887Pastel
Dancer adjusting her slipppers (MS 1581)1880Pastel
Dancer at the barre (MS 1731)1895—1898Pastel
Dancer at the barre (MS 2073)1874Pastel
Dancer at the barre (MS 2570)1885Pastel
Dancer bending (MS 486)1874—1879Pastel
Dancer bowing on her knee (MS 494)1895Pastel
Dancer combing her hair (MS 1390)1879Painting
Dancer dressing (MS 1745)1889Pastel
Dancer exercising (MS 483)1874Pastel
Dancer fastening her shoe (MS 2077)1887Pastel
Dancer in blue (MS 2349)1902Pastel
Dancer in bust (MS 1726)1897Pastel
Dancer in bust (MS 277)1895—1899Pastel
Dancer in green (MS 2608)1897—1901Pastel
Dancer in green (MS 273)1878Pastel
Dancer in pink bowing (MS 1418)1878Pastel
Dancer in red (MS 280)1893Pastel
Dancer in Ukrainian Dress1899Pastel
Dancer leaning (MS 2585)1874—1879Pastel
Dancer Moving Forward, Arms Raisedc. 1885–90Sculpture
Dancer nude study (MS 2348)1902Pastel
Dancer on stage (MS 1415)1879Painting
Dancer on stage (MS 478)1881—1885Pastel
Dancer Putting on Her Stocking1890s/1911Sculpture
Dancer reading (MS 165)1879Pastel
Dancer seated (MS 121)1872Painting
Dancer seen from behind (MS 2211)1889Pastel
Dancer seen from the back (MS 171)1874Painting
Dancer tilting (MS 423)1883Pastel
Dancer with a fan (MS 2592)1876Pastel
Dancer with arms crossed (MS 274)1872Painting
Dancer with arms raised (MS 1743)1891Pastel
Dancer with green bodice (MS 2345)1902Pastel
Dancer with raised arms (MS 475)1870Painting
Dancer with tambourine (MS 2053)1882Pastel
Dancer with tambourine (MS 450)1883Painting
Dancer with tambourine (MS 465)1897Painting
Dancers (MS 2215)1878Painting
Dancers (MS 2217)1890Pastel
Dancers (MS 2362)1904—1906Pastel
Dancers (MS 294)1890Pastel
Dancers (MS 471)1878Pastel
Dancers adjusting their hair (MS 286)1897Pastel
Dancers at rest (MS 1228)1898Pastel
Dancers at rest (MS 224)1874Painting
Dancers at the barre (MS 266)1877Pastel
Dancers at the barre (MS 267)1880Pastel
Dancers at the barre (MS 268)1900Painting
Dancers at the barre (MS 269)1900Pastel
Dancers Backstage1876/1883Oil painting
Dancers backstage (MS 271)1890Painting
Dancers behind the wings (MS 288)1880Pastel
Dancers bowing (MS 453)1885Pastel
Dancers in a landscape setting (MS 466)1895—1898Pastel
Dancers in pink (MS 1738)1900Pastel
Dancers in pink (MS 2364)1904Pastel
Dancers in red skirts (MS 451)1884Painting
Dancers in white (MS 1748)1878Pastel
Dancers in yellow skirts (MS 2359)1903Pastel
Dancers on stage (MS 1417)1881Pastel
Dancers on stage (MS 460)1880Pastel
Dancers on stage (MS 474)1884Pastel
Dancers resting (MS 2604)1890—1895Pastel
Dancers with fans (MS 291)1890Pastel
Dancers, Pink and Greenc. 1890Oil painting
Dante and Virgil at the Entrance of Hell (MS 2072)1857—1860Painting
Degas in studio smock (MS 688)1862Painting
Dunes along the sea (MS 1905)1869Pastel
Edmond Duranty (MS 732)1879Pastel
Elena et Camilla Primicile Carafa di Mantejasi (MS 695)1867Painting
Estelle Musson Balfour (MS 704)1872Painting
Estelle Musson Balfour (MS 710)1863—1865Painting
Fallen jockey (MS 1388)1870Painting
Farm at the foot of a cliff (MS 1918)1869Pastel
Four dancers (MS 1728)1885Pastel
Four dancers (MS 2365)1905Pastel
Four dancers (MS 287)1899Painting
Four dancers in blue (MS 2355)1903Pastel
Four dancers in the wings (MS 2356)1903Pastel
Four dancers on stage (MS 473)1897—1900Pastel
Germain Musson (MS 700)1853Painting
Getting off the bath (MS 1057)1884Pastel
Getting out of the bath (MS 1398)1898Pastel
Getting out of the bath (MS 1583)1879Pastel
Getting out of the bath (MS 1725)1900Pastel
Getting out of the bath (MS 2343)1901Pastel
Getting out of the bath (MS 2607)1895—1898Pastel
Giovanna Bellelli (MS 1242)1856Painting
Giulia Bellelli (MS 722)1858Painting
Green dancers (MS 469)1878Pastel
Hairdressing (MS 1387)1895Painting
Head of a woman (MS 290)1865Pastel
Head of a woman (MS 861)1873—1875Painting
Henri Degas and his niece Lucie Degas (MS 701)1875—1876Painting
Henri Rouart in front of his factory (MS 759)1875Painting
Horse races (MS 1928)1869—1872Painting
Horse races at Longchamp (MS 87)1873Painting
Horse riders in a lanscape (MS 2079)1860—1861Painting
Horse turned to the right (MS 95)1881—1885Pastel
Horse Walkingpossibly early 1870sSculpture
Horsemen riding on the sea shore (MS 1914)1868Pastel
Horseride (MS 80)1890—1895Painting
Horses and jockeys (MS 84)1890Painting
Horses in a medow (MS 2076)1871Painting
Houses along a cliff (MS 1587)1880—1890Painting
Houses on a cliff overlooking the sea (MS 1925)1869Pastel
Houses on the sea shore (MS 1408)1869Pastel
In the dance foyer (MS 2575)1897Pastel
James Tissot (MS 762)1867Painting
Jeantaud, Linet et Laîné (MS 859)1871Painting
Jockey (MS 2213)1889Pastel
Jockey in a red cap (MS 1931)1868Painting
Jockeys (MS 75)1877Painting
Jockeys (MS 83)1890Painting
Jockeys at Epsom (MS 97)1860Painting
Jules Perrot (MS 755)1875Painting
L'arlequin (MS 2223)1890Pastel
La Savoisienne (MS 863)1860—1862Painting
Lady with a parasol (MS 93)1870—1872Painting
Landscapec. 1877–79Monotype
Landscape1892Monotype with pastel
Landscape (MS 1572)1892Pastel
Landscape (MS 2233)1890—1893Painting
Landscape (MS 2234)1890—1893Pastel
Landscape with houses (MS 2567)1885—1890Pastel
Landscape with path leading to a copse of trees (MS 2610)1890—1892Painting
Laundress carrying linen (MS 2351)1902Pastel
Laundresses and horse (MS 2350)1902Pastel
Laundresses carrying baskets (MS 2352)1902Pastel
Little Dancer Aged Fourteen1878–81Sculpture
Little girl carrying flowers in her apron (MS 855)1862Painting
Lyda (MS 91)1870Painting
Marguerite de Gas (MS 713)1853—1854Painting
Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Paintings Gallery1879–80Print
Mathilde Musson Bell (MS 706)1872—1873Pastel
Meadow along a stream (MS 1934)1870—1875Pastel
Meadow bordering a river (MS 1577)Pastel
Mlle Bécat at the Ambassadeurs (MS 1410)1885Pastel
Morning toilette (MS 2078)1894Pastel
Mountain lake (MS 2229)1890—1893Pastel
Mountainous landscape (MS 2227)1890—1893Pastel
Mountainous landscape (MS 2230)1890—1893Pastel
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rouart (MS 2358)1904Pastel
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rouart (MS 2357)1904Pastel
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rouart (MS 2360)1904Pastel
Mrs Alexis Rouart and her children (MS 1396)1905Pastel
Mrs Camus (MS 1908)1869Pastel
Naked woman at rest (MS 1557)1880Pastel
Naked woman drying herself (MS 1045)1900Pastel
Naked woman drying herself (MS 1058)1886Pastel
Naked woman warming up (MS 2065)1880Pastel
Nude woman combing her hair (MS 1245)1877—1879Pastel
Nude woman combing her hair (MS 2353)1903Pastel
Olive trees in a mountaineous landscape (MS 1574)1892Pastel
Porrtaits of women (MS 857)1868Painting
Portrait of a man (MS 1733)1864Painting
Portrait of a Man (MS 2220)1890Pastel
Portrait of a man [Portrait of man in an armchair] (MS 853)1866Painting
Portrait of a woman (Attributed) (MS 1404)1867Painting
Portrait of a woman (MS 2067)1885Painting
Portrait of a woman (MS 862)1878—1889Pastel
Portrait of a woman (MS 868)1884Painting
Portrait of a woman (MS 873)1867—1868Painting
Portrait of a woman before a piano (MS 2060)1882—1885Pastel
Portrait of a woman with a hat (MS 872)1884Pastel
Portrait of a woman with hat (MS 870)1887—1890Painting
Portrait of a young girl (MS 1901)1868Painting
Portrait of a young lady (MS 867)1878Painting
Portrait of a young woman after a D-drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (MS 875)1858Painting
Portrait of Brandon (MS 2084)1874—1878Painting
Portrait of Elena Carafa (MS 696)1875Painting
Portrait of Henry Michel-Lévy (MS 1414)1873Painting
Portrait of the artist (MS 690)1863Painting
Preparation for the dance class (MS 247)1890Pastel
Program for the artistic evening of May 15, 1884 at the Ponsin Gallery (MS 2071)1884Pastel
Race Horsesc. 1885–88Pastel
Race horses (MS 76)1880Pastel
Races in the country (MS 96)1869Painting
Reclining nude woman (MS 2342)1901Pastel
René de Gas (MS 720)1855Painting
René de Gas with a inkwell (MS 719)1855Painting
Resting on field (MS 2055)1882Pastel
Riverbank (MS 1571)1890Pastel
Riverbank (MS 2083)1870—1875Pastel
Road in a forest (MS 1932)1870—1875Pastel
Road in a forest (MS 1933)1870—1873Pastel
Rocky coast (MS 1413)1890—1893Pastel
Rocky landscape (MS 2228)1890—1893Painting
Rue du Quesnoy at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (MS 2069)1895—1898Pastel
Ruins of a bridge over a river (MS 1394)1892Pastel
Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey1866, reworked 1880–81 and c. 1897Oil painting
Sea at low tide (MS 1916)1869Pastel
Sea shore (MS 1920)1869Pastel
Sea shore (MS 1921)1869Pastel
Sea shore (MS 1924)1869Pastel
Seascape (MS 1906)1869Pastel
Seated nude woman combing her hair (MS 1236)1890Pastel
Seated woman brushing her hair (MS 2600)1887—1890Pastel
Self-Portraitc. 1855Drawing
Self-Portrait (MS 689)1862Painting
Self-Portrait (MS 691)1856—1858Painting
Self-Portrait (MS 693)1857—1858Painting
Self-Portrait (MS 694)1857Painting
Self-Portrait with White Collarc. 1857Oil on paper on canvas
Sitting woman combing her hair (MS 2568)1887—1890Pastel
Standing man in a bowler hat (MS 717)1874Painting
Standing nude woman (MS 1237)1880Pastel
Standing nude woman (MS 2218)1890Pastel
Standing woman (MS 1737)1866Painting
Stream in the undergrowth (MS 1935)1870—1875Painting
Studies of a woman's head and a seated dancer (MS 481)1879Pastel
Study for Mr and Mrs Louis Rouart (MS 1750)1904Pastel
Study for Mrs Camus at the piano (MS 2573)1869Pastel
Study of a Nude (Dancer at the Barre)1884–1900Drawing
Study of dancers (MS 2344)1901Painting
Study of folds of a hooded cloak (MS 2074)1861—1864Painting
Study of nude woman (MS 2059)1884Pastel
Study of sky (MS 1923)1869Pastel
The ball (MS 1248)1879Painting
The ballet rehearsal (MS 298)1877Painting
The bath (MS 1586)1900—1905Pastel
The bath (MS 2222)1890Drawing
The cellist Pilet (MS 1253)1868Painting
The child in blue (MS 854)1854Painting
The chocolate cup after the bath (MS 1247)1905—1907Pastel
The convalescent (MS 702)1872—1873Painting
The conversation (MS 1570)1895Pastel
The cup of chocolate (MS 1564)1900—1905Pastel
The Dance Class1874Oil on canvas
The dance class (MS 1406)1876Pastel
The dance class (MS 2068)1876Pastel
The Dance Lessonc. 1879Oil painting
The dance lesson or ballet class (MS 212)1875Pastel
The dance lesson or ballet class (MS 215)1878Painting
The dancer's rest (MS 1724)1885Pastel
The Duchess Montejasi and her Daughters Elena and Camilla (MS 699)1881Painting
The Duchess of Montejasi-Cicerale (MS 698)1868Painting
The duet (MS 1393)1877—1879Pastel
The duet (MS 1416)1877Pastel
The Extras or The chorus (MS 1254)1877Pastel
The false start (MS 99)1870Painting
The Firesidec. 1876–77Monotype
The Giovanna and Giulia Bellelli Sisters (MS 721)1865Painting
The Holy Family - Copy. (MS 1903)1868—1872Painting
The Holy Family after Sebastiano del Piombo (MS 1751)1857Drawing
The march (MS 56)1866Painting
The pedicure (MS 1251)1873Painting
The racecourse - Amateur jockeys near a carriage (MS 1249)1878Painting
The Races1871–72Oil painting
The rehearsal of the ballet (MS 2057)1881Painting
The singer (MS 2591)1877—1880Pastel
The Tubc. 1889Sculpture
The tub (MS 1252)1886Pastel
The violist (MS 2569)1880Pastel
Three dancers (MS 1585)1889Pastel
Three dancers (MS 2064)1879Painting
Three dancers (MS 2210)1889Pastel
Three dancers (MS 2216)1899Pastel
Three dancers (MS 2354)1903Pastel
Three dancers (MS 2614)1899Pastel
Three dancers (MS 467)1895—1898Pastel
Three dancers (MS 468)1890Pastel
Three dancers in salmon pink skirts (MS 2363)1904—1906Pastel
Three heads of men (MS 860)1871Painting
Three jockeys (MS 79)1900Pastel
Three study of dancers (MS 482)1879—1880Pastel
Two bathers (MS 2347)1902Pastel
Two Dancers1873Drawing
Two dancers (MS 1722)1880—1885Pastel
Two dancers (MS 2611)1880Pastel
Two dancers (MS 295)1890Pastel
Two dancers (MS 296)1890Pastel
Two dancers at rest or Dancers in blue (MS 1229)1898Pastel
Two Dancers in bust (MS 2561)1897Pastel
Two harlequins (MS 396)1885Pastel
Two sitting dancers (MS 1736)1896Pastel
Two Womenc. 1878/1880Pastel
Two women at their bath (MS 1568)1895Pastel
Valleys (MS 2232)1890—1893Pastel
View of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (MS 2560)1896Painting
Walter Sickert, Daniel Halévy, Ludovic Halévy, Jacques-Emile Blanche, Gervex, Boulanger-Cavé (MS 856)1885Pastel
Wheat field and line of trees (MS 2225)1890—1892Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 1041)1890—1894Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 1048)1903Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 1050)1900Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 1559)1892Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 1561)1905—1907Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 2346)1902Pastel
Woman at her toilette (MS 2565)1895—1903Pastel
Woman Bathing in a Shallow Tub1885Pastel
Woman before a mirror (MS 370)1885—1886Pastel
Woman cleaning her left foot (MS 1232)1886Pastel
Woman combing her hair (MS 1746)1894Pastel
Woman combing her hair (MS 1238)1887—1890Pastel
Woman combing her hair (MS 1560)1892—1895Pastel
Woman combing her hair (MS 1727)1890Pastel
Woman combing her hair (MS 2237)1890—1895Pastel
Woman combing her hair before a mirror (MS 1250)1870—1875Painting
Woman comnbing her hair (MS 2209)1885Pastel
Woman drying erself after the bath (MS 2236)1890—1895Pastel
Woman drying her hair (MS 1042)1894Pastel
Woman drying her hair (MS 1044)1897Pastel
Woman drying her hair (MS 1569)1900Pastel
Woman drying her hair (MS 1729)1900—1903Pastel
Woman drying her hair (MS 1732)1885Pastel
Woman drying her left arm (MS 1055)1884Pastel
Woman drying her left arm (MS 1056)1884Pastel
Woman drying her right arm (MS 1052)1884Pastel
Woman drying herself (MS 1053)1884Pastel
Woman drying herself (MS 1059)1886Pastel
Woman drying herself (MS 1397)1888Pastel
Woman drying herself after the bath (MS 1562)1895Pastel
Woman Drying herself after the bath (MS 1563)1883Pastel
Woman drying herself after the bath wearing yellow mules (MS 2208)1889Pastel
Woman getting out of the bath (MS 1240)1881Pastel
Woman Having Her Hair Combedc. 1886–88Pastel
Woman in her bath washing her left leg (MS 1234)1883Pastel
Woman in mauve dress seated in an armchair or Mrs Alexis Rouart and Her Children (MS 2366)1905Pastel
Woman in red dressing gown combing her hair (MS 2207)1880Pastel
Woman Ironingbegun c. 1876, completed c. 1887Oil painting
Woman looking through opera glasses (MS 89)1881Painting
Woman sitting on a lawn (MS 2056)1882Pastel
Woman washing up in her tub (MS 1239)1892Pastel
Woman with a dog (MS 865)1875—1880Painting
Woman with a white apron (MS 94)1855Drawing
Woman with an umbrella (Mrs Jeantaud) (MS 866)1877—1880Painting
Woman with blue hat (MS 1558)1889Pastel
Woman with opera glasses (MS 90)1877Painting
Women ironing (MS 587)1875Painting
Women on the terrace of a café (MS 1241)1877Pastel
Young girl with white shawl (MS 874)1871Painting
Young spartan girls challenging boys (MS 1412)1860Painting
Young woman (MS 871)1890Painting
Young woman in black (MS 879)1861—1865Painting
Young woman in her bath (MS 1566)1890Pastel
Young woman standing by a table (MS 1739)1855Painting
Young woman tying the ribbons of her hat (MS 1244)1882Pastel
Young woman with her hand facing her mouth (MS 864)1875Painting

Discussion

Share what you notice in Degas’s ballet scene from robert la diable.

Reader Insights

Close Looking

How much of the painting belongs to the audience?

Context

Where do the opera glasses direct your eye?

Open Question

Which features separate this Met canvas from the later V&A version?

Join the Conversation

Share your reading of these works below.

References

  1. Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Ballet from “Robert le Diable”, 29.100.552, owner title, 1871 date, medium, size, accession, 1872 exhibition, subject and later version. View source
  2. Victoria and Albert Museum, paintings collection, identifies its separate 1876 Robert le Diable as CAI.19. View source
  3. Michel Schulman, Degas digital catalogue, Ballet de Robert le Diable, MS381, London version and Faure commission; used only to distinguish that later object. View source
  4. Splash image: Edgar Degas, The Ballet from “Robert le Diable”, 1871, oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29.100.552. Collection record. View source
  5. Splash image: Image: Edgar Degas, The Ballet from “Robert le Diable”, 1871, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 29.100.552. The Met Open Access image, Public Domain. View source