Examining dancers at rest, in rehearsals, behind the scenes, and onstage, he took an almost documentary approach. Degas provided a minimum of details to help us understand the ballerina seen here, “Dressed for the stage with flowers in her hair, she stands in a relaxed pose and is clearly distracted by something out of frame. Degas’s handling of the medium is just as ambivalent as the scene depicted.” On this small canvas