Impressionism · 1834–1917 · French

Edgar Degas

Degas worked more and more in pastel, building up layers of pure color and fixing each coat; many of his dancers are pastels, not oils.

Across 5 works, the colors are mostly brown (74%), black (17%) and gray (6%). On average the canvases are mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: golden olive, golden umber, umber, rich scarlet brown and dark reddish brown.

Color print

The swatches covering most of these canvases, averaged over every work, dark to light.

• MG 222 charcoal 7.3% of canvas
• MG 175 stone 6.5% of canvas
• MG 184 umber 5.8% of canvas
• MG 183 golden umber 5.8% of canvas
• MG 219 bistre 5.6% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 5.5% of canvas
• MG 191 golden olive 4.8% of canvas
• MG 156 dark reddish brown 4.6% of canvas
• MG 174 warm grey 4.0% of canvas
• MG 193 golden olive 3.7% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 3.6% of canvas
• MG 161 rich scarlet brown 3.6% of canvas
• MG 192 golden olive 3.2% of canvas
• MG 190 light golden sand 3.1% of canvas
• MG 221 blue black 3.0% of canvas
• MG 173 putty 2.9% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.46

Contrast

0.39

Vividness

0.037

Warmth

+1.00

Complexity

123 cells

Hue range

0.31

Focus

0.02

Works

• The Bellelli Family, 1858
• Interior, 1868
• The Ballet Class, 1871
• L'Absinthe, 1875
• Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879