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| Edgar Degas, Four Dancers, oil on canvas, c. 1899 |
On a recent trip to the National Gallery of Art I walked by a Degas painting I've walked by dozens of times. Something suddenly struck me about it. I stared at it for a while before realizing the intoxicating rhythm of the black line. It looks like it was painted as a finishing touch, after all the color and shapes were finished. The line completely energizes the subjects and seems as if he was painting it while listening to the music the ballerinas are preparing to dance to. He only uses it sparingly, bringing attention to the dancers and their movements. I think the painting wouldn't be as interesting without that line.
Do you ever see something new in a work of art you've seen a million times?
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