A popular painting from the series related to the cafes is the work “Singer from the cafeteria”. Degas attracted the cafes, with their democratic spirit, and even some vulgarity, especially since the personalities here, quite often met, are not ordinary.
The opinions of experts on who made the model for writing the canvas are ambiguous. Some argue that this is Ellis Degrange – a famous metropolitan pianist who willingly agreed to pose, others insist on the name of Theresa, one of the favorites of the artist, who made a furore in entertaining institutions by singing populist-anarchist songs, and to which, he did not spare enthusiastic epithets, wrote laudatory reviews, admiring the talent.
Degas, as usual, did not “spare” the popular personality either, capturing it not at the most favorable moment of the song’s performance – a wide-open mouth, somewhat distorted facial features, that is, the professional grimace of a celebrated celebrity. Somewhat to soften the “caricature” of the image, bright flares on the face and on the dress helped, as well as a flower that embellished the hairstyle.
The artist did not set out to ridicule the manner of performing the singer, but such truthfulness of the image of the scene allowed to convey a sense of materialization of sound.
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