Impressionism at the Phillips Collection

It is a fact: museum audiences are captivated by Impressionist exhibitions.  As Patricia Mainardi states in her essay, “Repetition and Novelty: Exhibitions Tell Tales,” “every American museum director knows that Impressionism sells.”  The Phillips Collection’s newest exhibition, Degas’s Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint (on view October 1, 2010-January 8, 2012) serves as the quintessential Impressionist show.  It incorporates not only Degas’ ballet works in a variety of media, but also works by other Impressionist artists from the permanent collection that influenced him, such as Manet’s Spanish Ballet and Cassatt’s In the Opera Box (no. 3).  This exhibition is in honor of the Philips’ 90^th anniversary: in 1944, Duncan Phillips acquired Dancers of Barre, which serves as the focal point of the exhibition.  

           

Yet, Degas’s Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint does more than just present “pretty pictures” for the admiration of an unwitting audience.  It provides a detailed look into Degas’ life, subject matter, and, what I found to be most significant, process.  In just a few dimly-lit galleries, the show explores his work from myriad angles.  In addition to the paintings, drawings and sculpture on display, it features contemporary photographs of a Swan Lake performance and a video performance of this same ballet performed in Germany.  These documentations of Swan Lake bring Degas’ work into a contemporary context and provide a more comprehensive look at this art form.  Moreover, the addition of a room infiltrated with natural light and filled with mirrors and an actual ballet barre, brings the atmosphere of the ballet studio into the viewer’s own physical space.  

Many of his works caught my interest for the sense of movement they evoke, while positioning the viewer as if caught in a fleeting moment.  For instance, in “The Dance Class,” Degas incorporated over twenty dancers engaging in mundane activities while busily preparing for class, creating a sense of activity that is enhanced by the silhouette of legs on a spiral staircase.  I particularly appreciated the exhibition's inclusion of a significant number of studies for his works, which could often be viewed in conjunction with the respective finished painting.  Such sketches provide insight into his intense attention to detail and multiple revisions, which in fact, resonates with the repetitive nature of ballet.  This close link between the artist and his subject matter provides another layer of complexity in the telling of Degas’ story.  

To further quote Mainardi, “the attraction [to Impressionist shows] is as much to the story the exhibition tells as to the paintings that compose it.”  I would have to agree with this point as it relates to the Degas show.  Beyond the art itself, an enhanced appreciation of Degas, including his mastery of multiple mediums, intense creative process, and integral link to the ballet, is paramount to the viewing experience.  The audience takes away much more than an awe-filled encounter with Impressionist works upon leaving the third floor of the Phillips Collection.