A Ballet Dancer in Position
by DEGAS, Edgar, Pencil with crayon and white chalk on paper, 410 x 285 mm
Degas had an immense repertoire of drawing techniques and idioms. Unusual precision and finesse were as much his as fast, sure-touch charcoal sketching. From preparatory drawings of details to drawings done in their own right, from charcoal drawings that used coloured pastel to loosely done gouaches, drawings for Degas were not a tiresome convention, but represented a challenge to experiment.