When Edgar Degas painted The Ballet from Robert le Diable in 1871, he chose a subject that had electrified Paris: the infamous "Ballet of the Nuns" from Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Robert le Diable. This scene, first performed in 1831 at the Paris Opéra, was notorious for its ghostly dancers—ballerinas portraying the spirits of sinful nuns rising from their graves to tempt the hero. The scandalous mix of religious imagery and sensual choreography shocked and fascinated audiences, and the ballet quickly became a symbol of the era’s artistic daring. Degas captures the moment just as the spectral nuns, clad in fluttering white, glide across the stage under the eerie glow of gaslight.

The viewer’s eye is drawn to the diagonal sweep of dancers, their tutus almost luminous against the shadowy backdrop of Gothic ruins. At the right, the orchestra pit and conductor are visible, anchoring the fantasy to the reality of the theater. Unlike earlier artists who depicted ballet as genteel or idealized, Degas reveals its backstage grit and the tension between illusion and effort.

His brushwork, loose and energetic, echoes the fleeting movement of the dance and the flicker of stage light—anticipating the Impressionist fascination with modern life. The painting’s early history is somewhat obscure, as Degas did not always exhibit or sell his works promptly. It is thought to have been painted soon after the Franco-Prussian War, during a period when Degas was experimenting with theatrical subjects and new techniques. The Ballet from Robert le Diable marks one of his first major explorations of the ballet theme, which would become central to his career.

Today, the work is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, a rare example of Degas’s early ballet scenes outside France. Its presence there testifies to the international appeal of both the Parisian stage and Degas’s innovative vision.