Degas' Obsession

On 8 May, the Glyptotek opens a new exhibition centred on Edgar Degas’ enigmatic painting Dancers Practising in the Foyer and the research that has recently led to a proposed revised dating of the work. Degas’ Obsession delves into this single painting, exploring its history and its significance in understanding Degas’ artistic practice. Ballet scenes were a central theme in Edgar Degas’ career, yet Dancers Practising in the Foyer has long been difficult to place in relation to his other ballet paintings. The painting is immediately puzzling—seemingly not finished, with very unevenly applied paint layers, drastically different tones and a dominant shadow from a partially overpainted figure. These unexplained visual mysteries sparked what became an an extensive research project led by art historian Dr. Line Clausen Pedersen, in a collaboration between the Glyptotek and the Getty in Los Angeles.

The new technical analyses suggest that Degas began the painting much earlier than previously believed, working on it over the course of nearly 30 years. The research also reveals a previously unknown, overpainted dancer. Cross-sections of the paint layers show that the work contains up to 14 layers, as Degas repeatedly reworked, scraped into the surface, painted over figures and added new ones. Dancers Practising in the Foyer is thus both one of the earliest and one of the final examples of his ballet paintings, making it a unique work within his oeuvre.

The exhibition Degas’ Obsession invites visitors behind the scenes of scientific research and technical art history. At its centre stands a single painting, removed from its frame and displayed in the middle of the room, allowing it to be examined from all angles. Through the exhibition’s five rooms, visitors are initiated into the painting’s mysteries as they follow the researchers’ discoveries. Films, texts and technical analyses uncover hidden aspects of the painting, normally invisible to the naked eye.

Degas’ Obsession forms part of the Glyptotek’s strategic focus on its own collection of French painting and sculpture.