When Edgar Degas unveiled Musicians in the Orchestra (Portrait of Désiré Dihau) at the 1870 Salon, critics were startled by its focus: not the dancers or the stage, but the men in the pit. The painting’s central subject, bassoonist Désiré Dihau, was a close friend of Degas and a fixture at the Paris Opéra, where Degas himself was a frequent visitor. This work marks one of the earliest times Degas turned his attention to the world behind the scenes, a fascination that would define much of his later career.

The painting’s unusual perspective—placing the viewer among the musicians—was so novel that it prompted debate about what, exactly, constituted a worthy subject for art. In this crowded, luminous slice of the orchestra, Degas captures a moment just before the music begins. Dihau, seated with his bassoon, appears absorbed and slightly apart, his concentration echoed by the other musicians, whose faces and instruments are rendered in crisp detail. The sweep of black coats and shining instruments forms a visual rhythm, while the blurred legs of ballerinas above hint at the performance about to unfold, connecting the unseen drama of the stage with the hidden labor below.

Unlike Manet’s Music in the Tuileries, which celebrates the fashionable crowd, Degas turns his gaze to those who create the spectacle, inviting us to notice their individuality and quiet anticipation. Musicians in the Orchestra was painted in 1868, at a time when Degas was experimenting with new ways to capture modern life. The painting remained with Dihau for many years, a testament to their friendship, before passing through several private collections. Today, it resides in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, where it is recognized as a pivotal work in Degas’s exploration of contemporary subjects.

This early foray into the world of the Opéra laid the groundwork for his later, more famous depictions of dancers, and stands as a vivid document of the artist’s evolving vision.