Over a hundred rapidly drawn life studies of dancers at practice were found in Degas’ studio after his death. These charcoal drawings, of which this is a fine example, have been dated to the mid 1880’s, and depict various ballet exercises. On his frequent visits to the rehearsal rooms at the Opéra, Degas would have observed the young dancers performing these daily exercises – ronds de jambes, pliés, and so forth – and attempted to capture these standard movements and poses on paper. Although Degas is known to have often visited the rehearsal rooms at the Opéra with a sketchbook in hand, and some of these drawings may have been made there, others are equally likely to have been drawn from models posed in the artist’s studio. These drawings do not seem to have been intended as preparatory studies for paintings, since the dancers depicted in them are rarely found in finished works. Degas’ charcoal drawings of single dancers engaged in ballet exercises often show signs of pentimenti, as the artist tried to quickly capture the position of a leg or arm in motion, and may be counted among his most immediate and spontaneous drawings. Many of these drawings, like the present sheet, also have annotations in the artist’s hand. Although it has often been assumed that the critical comments often found on these drawings refer to mistakes made by the dancers themselves, it has also been suggested that they may instead point out errors of draughtsmanship, as the artist corrected himself in his attempts to capture a particular pose or movement.

The present sheet was one of four charcoal drawings of dancers performing ballet exercises, of identical dimensions and each annotated by the artist, which were sold as one lot in the third Vente Degas in April 1919.