Dancer in Ukrainian Dress

Dancer in Ukrainian Dress by Edgar Degas, executed in 1899, is a powerful late-career work that diverges from the artist's usual focus on the Parisian opera ballet, instead concentrating on a figure clad in specific European folk attire. This piece is classified as a drawing, meticulously rendered in pastel over charcoal on tracing paper, a combination of media that Degas frequently utilized late in his life. The medium allowed him to combine the foundational structure of drawing with the expressive, luminous color characteristic of paint, lending the work a unique intensity.

The drawing captures the subject mid-step, emphasizing the robust movement and the volume of the traditional costume. The vigorous application of charcoal beneath the pastel builds a dynamic texture, ensuring the figure possesses a strong, anatomical presence even beneath the heavy drapery of the Ukrainian dress. Degas was dedicated to the study of Dancing and the physical exertion required of performers, focusing his analytical gaze on women in motion. The intense blue and bright yellow of the applied pastel highlights the vibrant national colors of the Dancers' outfit, lending cultural context to an otherwise intimate study.

Dating from the twilight of his career, this vibrant work demonstrates Degas's enduring commitment to exploring form and spontaneous action through unconventional framing and rich color application. The use of tracing paper emphasizes the preliminary, exploratory nature of the work, often suggesting that the artist may have intended to use the design for transfer or subsequent revisions. This significant drawing is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key example of Degas's late-period mastery of the pastel medium.