The story behind one of his most charming paintings
You know that feeling when a painting seems to freeze a second that was already disappearing? That’s pure Degas. His pastel Harlequin and Columbine nails it. Two dancers, a splash of yellow and blue, and a moment that still feels alive more than 130 years later.
It’s one of those pictures that makes you smile without trying. Let’s dig into what’s actually going on in it, who Degas was, and why people still can’t get enough of it.
What’s happening in the picture?
Around 1886 Degas made this pastel of two characters straight out of old Italian theatre. On the left you’ve got Harlequin — the cheeky, acrobatic clown in the diamond-patterned costume. Opposite him is Columbine, the graceful dancer and his usual sweetheart. He’s leaning in mid-move; she’s turning on her toes in a soft blue tutu.
These two aren’t random. They come from commedia dell’arte, that centuries-old Italian comedy style that’s basically the great-great-grandparent of modern cartoons and sitcoms. Every character had a fixed personality. Harlequin was the clever troublemaker. Columbine was sharp and usually the one keeping him in check.
Here’s the best part: Degas didn’t invent the scene. He was sketching real dancers rehearsing a ballet called Les Jumeaux de Bergame (“The Twins of Bergamo”) that opened at the Paris Opéra in January 1886. He spent a lot of time hanging around the theatre, drawing performers when they weren’t posing for anyone. That’s why the whole thing feels so natural and full of movement.
Quick facts
- Artist: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
- Date: around 1886
- Medium: pastel on paper
- Size: roughly 41 × 41 cm (about the size of a vinyl album cover)
- Colours: bright yellows, greens, blues
- Home: Belvedere Museum, Vienna (there since 1942)
Who was Edgar Degas?
Born in Paris in 1834, Degas usually gets lumped in with the Impressionists — the late-1800s painters who decided everyday life was more interesting than kings and battles. He did show work in their exhibitions, so the label stuck. He never really liked it, though. He preferred calling himself a realist. He just wanted to show life as it actually looked.
What he looked at most was people in motion: dancers stretching and spinning, horses about to race, women brushing their hair. He drew and painted ballet so often people started calling him “the painter of dancers.” Over his lifetime he made something like 1,500 works with dancers in them. Clearly the subject never got old for him.
One more thing worth knowing: as he got older his eyesight started to fail. Instead of packing it in, he switched more heavily to pastels. Soft coloured sticks you can smudge and layer with your fingers let him keep working bold and loose even when his vision wasn’t sharp. Harlequin and Columbine comes from that period, and you can feel the energy in every stroke.
Why does this one still hit so hard?
A few reasons that add up.
It looks happy. A lot of famous art feels serious or heavy. This one is light, warm, and fun. The colours pop, the dancers are playful, and it doesn’t try too hard to impress you.
Anyone can get it. You don’t need a degree in art history to enjoy two performers caught mid-dance. Movement, colour, a little romance — that language is universal.
It’s Degas at his best in one frame: the theatre, the dancer, the quick honest moment, the glowing pastels. If you wanted a single picture to show what made him special, this one does a lot of the work.
And these days the painting is free of copyright and all over the place. What used to live only in a museum can now live on a poster, a mug, a phone case… or a good t-shirt. Which is where we come in.
Wear the art
We put this Degas pastel on a soft, comfortable tee so you can carry a bit of art history around with you. It’s a solid conversation starter, a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves art, and just a really good-looking shirt.
Available in white, light grey, and black, sizes Small through 5XL.
If you like Degas, type “Degas” into the search bar at expressionize.com and you’ll find more of his dancers and scenes ready to wear. We carry plenty of other classics too, so it’s worth a look around.
A quick word on how the tee shirts are made
We use print-on-demand. That means we don’t print a warehouse full of shirts and hope they sell. Your shirt gets printed after you order it, just for you. Less waste, more choice of designs/colours/sizes, and a shirt that hasn’t been sitting folded on a shelf for months.
The actual printing is DTG — direct-to-garment. Think of a high-quality inkjet printer that prints straight onto the cotton instead of paper. For a painting like this one it’s ideal:
- Captures the fine colour shifts and soft edges Degas was so good at
- Handles all those yellows, greens and blues without flattening them
- The ink soaks into the fabric rather than sitting on top like a sticker, so it feels soft