A brilliant master of composition, Degas proposed a fundamentally new method of constructing pictures without the traditional center – a method based on the ‘random glance’. The artist saw the meaning of his creative work in the depiction of life ‘caught unaware, without any posing’.

Degas was an admirer of Ingres and went through good academic schooling, and his preference was for drawing. In contrast to his associates, he did not work in nature. The landscape genre did not appeal to him in the pure form. However, he shared the impressionists’ love for clean light colors, as well as their interest in the effects of illumination and the portrayal of movement. He was also drawn by scenes from modern urban life.

The artist’s favorite range of themes included horse races, scenes in the washing house and cafe, nude models, and, of course, the theater. All of these themes were tied together for Degas by the portrayal of the rhythmic, professional, and perfected movement, whether it was horses, laundresses, models, or ballerinas. In Exercising Racehorses, the actual race is not shown, but rather the preparation for it or the moment after the races, when the training level of the horse and jockey automatically makes itself known.