Degas is most known for his pictures of ballerinas. These ballerinas, however, were a main part of the opera. Degas painted both the opera and the cafe-concerts. The use of his bass viol in the foreground of the orchestrat was adopted by many artists such as Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec as a way to fill the foreground void and create depth.

The Orchestra at the Opera House. c.1870. Oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Cafe Concert Singer. 1878. Pastel on canvas. The Fogg Art Museum, Harward University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

The Song Rehearsal. 1872-73. Oil on canvas. Dumbarton Oaks Reseach Library and Collections, Washington, DC, USA.

At the Cafe des Ambassadeurs. 1885. Pastel on etching. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France.

Home | Opera | Circus | Cabaret | Site Map | Bibliography | Links