The Sordid Truth behind Degas’s Ballet Dancers

The Dancing Class, ca. 1870.
"The fundamentals of ballet haven’t changed all that much since its invention in 15th-century Italy. Yet the popular image of this deeply traditional medium has been largely defined by the talents of one thoroughly modern artist: Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. The coteries of young women in flowering tutus who populate the approximately 1,500 paintings, monotypes, and drawings Degas dedicated to the ballet are among the French artist’s most universally beloved artworks. At first glance, Degas has rendered the sort of pretty, innocent world one might associate with a 6-year-old’s first recital. These works actually speak to an insidious culture that would be shocking to contemporary audiences. Although it enjoyed unprecedented popularity in Degas’s era, the ballet—and the figure of the ballerina—had suffered a demoralizing fate by the late 1800s. ..."
Artsy
Guardian: Degas's dancers are studies in cruel reality. But don't go thinking he felt compassion for them - Germaine Greer
Smithsonian: Degas and His Dancers
Sexual Exploitation Was the Norm for 19th Century Ballerinas

The Dance Class (La Classe de Danse), 1873–1876