The French impressionist artist Edgar Degas revelled in depictions of ballet dancers.
A major new exhibition at the Royal Academy in London traces his preoccupation with capturing movement on canvas.
In his early attempts at defining the ballet form, Degas took an almost documentary approach to his subject.
The artist captured the dancers with a keen eye to detail.
Though he has often been criticised as a "chocolate box painter", Degas brought his training as a specialist in historical depictions to bear in his works.
"He was a very radical, cutting-edge in his day", says the exhibition's co-curator Ann Dumas.
"He was really interested in the human figure, movement and complex movement," Dumas adds.
Degas' insight into the often complex world of ballet came after long hours in which he obsessively observed dancers practicing their moves.
The exhibition features one of Degas' most famous sculptures, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, which raised many eyebrows when first shown to the public.
The show, curated by art historian Richard Kendall, is the latest of his many explorations of the man behind the canvas.
Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement will feature in the main galleries of the Royal Academy in London's Piccadilly, from 17 September to 11 December.
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