Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is best known for his luminous studies of dancers.He captured his young female subjects warming up, practising at the bar ormid-performance with a stunning immediacy and accuracy, on canvas, paper and in bronze. Sumptuously illustrated with drawings, pastels, paintings, prints and sculpture, as well as photographs taken by the artist and his contemporaries, and samples of filmfromthe period, this beautiful book follows the development of Degas's ballet imagery. The renowned Degas scholars Richard Kendall and Jill Devonyar examine the artist's innovative approach to the subject, fromhis documentarymode of the early 1870s to the sensuous and expressivemanner of his late work. Parallel advances in photography and early filmare also explored, placing Degas's lifelong engagement with the figure inmovement in a contemporary context.

Sumptuously illustrated with drawings, pastels, paintings, prints and sculpture, as well as photos taken by the artist and his contemporaries and film stills taken from the period, this book follows the development of Degas' ballet imagery.