Through Edgar Degas’s beloved paintings, drawings, and sculptures, Susan Goldman Rubin conveys the wonder and excitement of the ballet world. Degas is one of the most celebrated painters of the impressionist movement, and his ballerina paintings are among the most favorite of his fans. In his artwork, Degas captures every moment, from the relentless hours of practice to the glamour of appearing on stage, revealing a dancer’s journey from novice to prima ballerina. Observing young students, Degas drew their poses again and again, determined to achieve perfection. The book includes a brief biography of his entire life, endnotes, bibliography, where to see his paintings, and an index.

"In Degas' work there are a number of fundamental elements which exist across oeuvre and motif, technique and chronology. It is with these elements that Degas' Method is concerned: that which catches one's attention if the customary pigeonholing of the works is abandoned and the works themselves are returned to the creative ferment from which they emerged, where they exist side by side -- and from whence Degas, in a manner entirely his own, has taken and combined them. Degas' Method mixes painting, pastel, monotype, sculpture, drawing and several graphic disciplines in the desire to bring together the artist's production, ranging across motif, technique and chronology." -- Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek website.

Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) first became interested in ballet in the 1860s and spent years studying the movements of ballerinas. Some of his most famous paintings and sketches are reproduced here for children and aspiring dancers. Angela Wenzel is also the author of "Gustav Klimt: Silver, Gold and Precious Stones" and "Rene Magritte: Now You See It - Now You Don't".

He addressed the routine of the practice room, the drabness of backstage life, the moment of transformation as performers left or entered the stage, and the squalid, amorous adventures between the ballerinas and the black-suited, top-hatted, and often sinister gentlemen who sought their favors after a performance.