HOW TO DO 1. Watch the Videos on Impressionism and Degas. Do some other research if you like to try to get an understanding of this image. 1a. Look at how the space doesn’t seem mathematical or precise, that it is not like a stage, that there is no focus, that it is modern feeling in this way. The Impressionists, like Degas, painted as they saw and that is important and unlike how people did before. Compare, for example to David’s Oath of Horataii (1784) (Google it)—do you see how stiff and posed and staged that painting is, whereas Degas’ is as if you just walked into a room with everyone doing “their thing”? Now you have to put those observations into an essay. What about the mirror in the left background of painting reflecting the industrial city? It shows it is modern and technological. The same for the advertisement next to it. These are some things to think about. 2. Think about what the word “modern” means (You can look up “modern” in Wikipedia for ideas, but I want you to generate your own explanation of the term, not copy one from the Internet). What makes Degas’ The Dance Class modern? Think about the following aspects of the painting: How does it depict the interior of the dance studio? What (if anything) is the focus or central figure in the painting? Does the view seem formal or casual? You may borrow ideas other sources, but tell me you are doing so by using quotation marks and telling me where from. 2a. I want you to interpret this painting with a strong opinion—i.e. thesis, supported with observations you make in the painting. This assignment is not about defining the word modern, but about how you interpret Degas painting as modern. It really is a modern way of seeing. -Paper should conform to Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) standard.
