This unusual commission sees Banksy rework Edgar Degas’s The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage (1874). In Banksy’s version, Simon Cowell appears in the scene as the ballet master, lending the classical composition a surreal and satirical twist. Reportedly gifted to Cowell at Christmas, the painting is one of the rare instances where Banksy produced a private commission. By inserting the television producer and talent show judge into the rarefied world of Degas, the work blurs the boundaries between high art, celebrity culture, and parody.