Among the supreme masterpieces of 19th-century art are Edgar Degas's dramatic, incisive, and often brilliantly colored pictures of the ballet. Yet despite his enormous popularity as the foremost artist of the dance with more than half his vast body of paintings, pastels, drawings, and sculptures devoted to the on- and off-stage activities of ballerinas, this is the first book to illuminate the theme in its historical context.

This authoritative volume presents much new material about Degas as an artist and his relationship with the ballet of his day. Far more knowledgeable about the training and technique of dancers than has previously been realized, Degas is shown responding to numerous ballet productions at the Paris Opéra, to the shadowy life of the wings, and to the daily routines of the classroom.

Originally published to accompany an acclaimed exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this lavish, richly illustrated volume should fascinate a wide audience of art- and dance-lovers.