Degas at the Royal Academy

Edgar Degas, Ballerina

A few weeks ago I saw the Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement exhibition at the RA in london, and it definitely has to be one of the best exhibitions I've ever seen. Regardless of the fact that I was a little biased because Degas is one of my favourite painters, Picturing Movement really was stunning, it was a masterclass in how to successfully curate an exhibition.

The entire upper galleries were transformed to show the processes through which Degas strove to show movement in his painting: from the pioneering work of contemporary scientists and photographers, to the painter's own foray into photography, Degas and the Ballet does not simply cover the completed works of the painter. The exhibition instead shows the build up to each work; the preparatory sketches and influential photographs are placed alongside the finished painting, giving the viewer a fascinating insight into Degas's mind.

Degas would study the ballerina's movement from all angles, as well as challenging himself to sketch the dancers during their rehearsals at the studio in order for him to understand how movement manipulated the body, and how best to show this is in a static medium such as painting. The painting of the ballerina to the left is a particularly good example of Degas's skill and ability to picture movement.

However, my favourite object in the exhibition was actually not a painting by Degas, but the sculpture flight of a gull, made to understand the process of flight by a contemporary of Degas, the scientist Etienne-Jules Marey. I love that it was originally created for science but is really a piece of art in its own right. Which is really what the whole exhibition is about; understanding movement, capturing it, and channelling it into something fixed but beautiful.

Etienne-Jules Marey, Flight of a Gull.

The exhibition runs until the 11th December, go see it if you can!