Musicians in the Orchestra

Degas did not always portray ballerinas backstage. He created several pastels with ballerinas being the stars of the show. In this painting we see an unusual perspective of the stage. Dominating the foreground are the musicians, in the dark. In the background, but clearly visible because of the spotlight on her tutu, is a very young ballerina, bowing to the viewer. Degas used a skewed perspective to allow our eyes to travel the distance from the tight-knit composition of musicians in the foreground to the performing ballerinas on stage. Thus, the composition is both tight and spacious.