1888, Edgar Degas, Ballet Dancers [pastel] -- National Gallery (London)

From the museum label:

 

Ballet dancers were a lifelong subject for Degas. For this work, he made studies of each figure and combined them to resemble a frieze (a horizontal band of decorative artwork).

 

Beneath their tulle tutus, the dancers' awkward, contorted postures reveal the physical toll of this demanding and often exploitative work, for which young women trained at schools in Paris.

Done