Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, and the Art References in Ballerino
One thing I really enjoy about manhwa is how often authors draw inspiration from real works of art.
At its core, it's a story about ballet, money, power, and forbidden romance.
Jin is a ballet star—a beautiful "bird" trapped inside a golden cage, enduring everything for the sake of dancing. His carefully controlled world begins to fall apart when Lev, a bold and wealthy outsider, barges into high society and refuses to play by its rules. Lev's dangerous kindness awakens the possibility of a life Jin had long stopped believing he could have.
As Ballerino is still ongoing, it's fun to see which artists the author has referenced so far.
At the beginning of chapter 4, we briefly see paintings by Vincent van Gogh. A little later, the protagonist stops in front of a sculpture of a young ballerina and says:
"That's why this sculpture caught my attention. It feels like she's looking straight into my soul."
Since Ballerino revolves around ballet, it isn't surprising that the author chose Edgar Degas.
Degas was a French artist best known for his paintings and sculptures of ballet dancers. But unlike many artists of his time, he wasn't interested in presenting ballet as a glamorous fantasy. Instead, he focused on the hard work behind it—long rehearsals, exhaustion, and the quiet moments backstage.
The sculpture shown in this chapter is Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.
Today, one of the bronze casts can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The original model, Marie van Goethem, was a student at the Paris Opera Ballet and came from a very poor family. Like many young dancers from poor families, she trained under difficult circumstances.
Later in the chapter, the protagonist even asks:
"But why would you put something this ugly here?"
When Degas first exhibited the sculpture, many people reacted in a similar way.
Instead of an idealized ballerina, they saw an ordinary teenage girl with tired posture and realistic, almost harsh facial features.
That was exactly Degas' intention.
He wanted to show reality rather than an idealized version of it.
I think that's why this sculpture fits Ballerino so well. Jin isn't portrayed as someone living a fairy tale either—his place in the ballet world is something he has to earn through relentless work and sacrifice.
Why place his paintings in the same chapter?
Of course, this is only my interpretation, but I wonder if the contrast between Degas and Van Gogh was intentional.
Degas represents discipline, repetition, and the physical demands of becoming an artist.
Van Gogh, on the other hand, often represents an artist's inner world—emotion, loneliness, and passion.
He's also remembered as someone who was deeply misunderstood during his lifetime. He lived in poverty and received very little recognition while he was alive, which echoes the struggles of characters who devote everything to their art.
Even Van Gogh's flowers—sunflowers, irises, almond blossoms—are often associated with beauty that doesn't last forever.
A ballet career is just as fragile.
Degas carefully observed reality.
Van Gogh transformed it through emotion, color, and expressive brushstrokes.
If the author intentionally placed these two artists side by side, perhaps it's a reminder that ballet is both exhausting discipline and overwhelming emotion.
At least, that's how I interpreted this chapter
📌 Credits
Manhwa: Ballerino (발레리노)
Story: Eo Kaeng (어깽)
Art: Kingo (킨고)
Panels from Ballerino are used for commentary, criticism, and review.
All rights to the original work belong to its creators.
Artwork shown: Edgar Degas, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
