Edgar Degas “The Star” depicts a simple, lovely dancer dancing across the stage. The dark browns and greens make the tone feel eerie and dark. Done in oil pastels have a rough texture in the background. Edgar fades away some of the backgrounds making it look like there are curtains making it more like a stage. Behind the curtains there are legs of people waiting behind stage to dance.
Degas focal point is on ballerina up stage. She is wearing a white lovely costume with flowers around it. By her wearing white it shows that she is pure and innocents. The ballerina takes up most of the space in the foreground and our eyes catch her first. Orange, browns, and blues in the background look like they are placed on the painting but it takes a second glance to realize that there is more to the painting than the ballerina but what’s going on backstage. The balance is not divided up evenly because of the focal point it seems like there is more going on in the foreground but really there is more going on in the background.
We, as viewers see more than just a ballerina dancing across the stage but the hidden narrative in the background. Watching the dancer, the viewer is swept up into a pure happy felling, which is makes you comfortable. As the eye drift off the dancer and into the background, it makes a gloomy dark feeling, which is entirely different that looking at the ballerina. Degas keeps the viewers entertained and wanting to keep looking back at the painting.