VA Comp 8 Common

Assessment~ Art
Criticism
th

By: Abbey Blosser

The Waiting - By
Degas

The
media
used is
chalk
pastels.

About The Artist~ Degas

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French artist Born: July 19, 1834 - Paris, France

Died: September 27, 1917 - Paris, France

As a child, Degas had a deep passion for music as his mother was
once an opera singer while his father used to arrange music for recitals
held in the Degas' home.

Lycee Louis-le-Grand where he took up classical education.

By the time he was 18 years of age, Degas had a rare opportunity to

copy or replicate art techniques by various artists whose works were
featured at the Louvre. With this opportunity, he was able to create
exceptional copes of the Raphael while studying the styles of Eugene
Delacroix and Ingres, among other contemporary painters.

In the year 1955, the young artist was admitted to the Academie des
Beaux Arts, which is now known as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

Description
The Waiting by Degas is a beautiful piece that shows more than what is
on the canvas. A dancer in ballet costume and a woman in street dress
are waiting, perhaps in the anteroom of the Opera. as said on Degas
website. This pastel painting is a good example of line. Also it uses
many elements of art like form, color, shape, and value. Line is clearly
because he used its sketchy lines to build details. Value is shown to
color in the different parts of the room, the dancer, and the woman. This
piece of art is one of my favorites and all of Degas pieces on ballet.

Analysis
Degas piece is a simple piece to put the emphasis on the mood. . The
woman draws aimless patterns with her umbrella on the parquet floor.
The girl bends over, massaging her left ankle with her hand. With these
simple means and by suggesting a blankness of space through the
suppression of all detail, the artist has created an almost endless
moment of boredom. from Degas website. Texture is used to show the
graininess of the wood. Also to make the ladies clothes look real and in
depth. The colors used were not very bright to again to emphasize the
mood. The darker areas he supplied strong accents which gave the
figures solidity and character. The character of this piece is an amazing
representation of how something can be implied but subtle. Balance is
shown by the proportion of the people placed in the picture. The way
that Degas placed the people shows that they are anxiously waiting for
something.

Interpretation
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This piece has a simple meaning of boredom. I also feel the mood as
lots of waiting hence the title The Waiting. This painting makes me
feel as I am waiting with them. Almost like the people pull me into the
painting and I am about to give the news that they are anxiously
waiting for. I have a special connection with this piece because I have
been in that dancers shoes. I know what it is like to sit there waiting
and waiting and you either get good news or bad news.

Evaluation
My evaluation of this piece would be that first it is a beautiful piece of
art work. Second the lines in the piece are nicely drawn. There are a few
suggestions that I could make to the piece. One suggestion That I could
is to make the lines that the woman is drawing on the floor darker so
that you could clearly see it. Also there is shadow under the ballerinas
foot and there is no shadow under the womans foot, so I believe that
there should be a shadow under the womans. I believe that The Waiting
by Degas is a beautiful piece overall and tells the story very well.