Children and Ponies in a Park

Today, we present a painting by Edgar Degas, created before Impressionism, yet with a clear fascination with modern life. The scene depicts three young girls learning to ride ponies in a park-like landscape, possibly inspired by the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, a fashionable site of bourgeois leisure during the Second Empire. Although the children wear similar riding outfits, each reveals a different level of confidence and control. One girl elegantly guides her pony over flowers, another becomes awkwardly stuck in the flowerbed, while the youngest struggles to move a stubborn donkey lying on the grass. A small goat or lamb running through the background adds further playfulness to the scene. 

What makes the painting particularly modern is Degas’s composition. Instead of presenting a balanced and idealized scene, he uses abrupt cropping, unusual angles, and partially obscured figures. Degas was deeply interested in movement and observation, and this interest would later appear again in his famous paintings of ballet dancers. Much like his ballerinas, the young riders are shown as individuals caught in imperfect moments. 

Have a great Monday, everyone!

P.S. Degas is best known for his ballet scenes, but he was much more than that. Discover 5 Degas paintings that are not ballerinas!