Edgar Degas, The Ballerina (oil on canvas) was made in 1876 and is now in the San Diego Museum of Art here in Balboa Park. This painting depicts Degas' famous motif of ballerinas captured in the moment as they practice their moves. A lone ballerina stands in the center of the painting, completely dominating the canvas. Degas uses dull colors, mainly beige brown and melancholic blue for his tutu, instead of the light pink he uses in his other portraits of ballerinas. Its body is very gravitational, represented almost like a tree trunk. We can see his use of earthly colors in this painting, as it is dominated by different hues of earthly blues and browns. His use of light and shadow is prominent here, as the canvas appears split in two, thanks to his use of shadow. We can see that this particular ballerina is the heroine of her painting, as she is alone, exhibiting her grandeur and presence. Her silhouette appears heavy and not ethereal, whereas Degas presents his other ballerinas. There's something unique about her. We cannot make out his face or understand his facial expression; all we are left with is her body language to predict what she might convey. I can't tell if his faceless face suggests a generic idea of ​​all ballerinas or if he chose not to paint his face due to his failing eyesight. The fact that she has no facial expression leaves her without an identity. As with all of his other paintings, this one captures a moment, permanently freezing it in time. He depicts moments that could not have lasted more than a few seconds and paints them in a special way that immortalizes them. This particular ballerina is not performing, she seems to be practicing in the dance hall; however, it has...... middle of paper ......, the broader feel of the scene. He wants us to take in the whole picture but have a moment to take in the individual scenes, like the couple dancing, the man in the corner rolling his cigar, or the women in front talking to the man. There are places where our eyes can rest, but in general your eye absorbs the hustle and bustle of modern life and pleasures. Degas' passion for depicting ballerinas as they performed perfectly captures the tone of Impressionism. Impressionist painters were enchanted by modern life and captured the movement of Parisian life. Degas's Ballerinas and Renoir's Moulin de la Galette capture the essential qualities of Impressionism. Because Degas's Ballerinas reflects much of the Impressionist movement, we can compare this work to other works from the same time and place, such as that of Renoir..