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Learn about the life and work of Edgar Degas, one of the founders of Impressionism, who painted scenes of modern life, especially ballet dancers and horses. Explore his influences, techniques, and innovations in oil, pastel, and monotype.
Explore the paintings of Edgar Degas, one of the founders of Impressionism, who rejected the label and painted indoors. See his famous works, such as Self Portrait Saluting, and his genres, styles, media and influences.
- French
- July 19, 1834
- Paris, France
- September 27, 1917
Learn about Edgar Degas, a French realist painter and sculptor who depicted modern life scenes with meticulous drawing and light. Explore his works of art, including pastels, monotypes, and sculptures, at the National Gallery of Art.
- Summary of Edgar Degas
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- Biography of Edgar Degas
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Always remembered as an Impressionist, Edgar Degas was a member of the seminal group of Paris artists who began to exhibit together in the 1870s. He shared many of their novel techniques, was intrigued by the challenge of capturing effects of light and attracted to scenes of urban leisure. But Degas's academic training, and his own personal predile...
Degas's enduring interest in the human figure was shaped by his academic training, but he approached it in innovative ways. He captured strange postures from unusual angles under artificial light....Degas's academic training encouraged a strong classical tendency in his art, which conflicted with the approach of the Impressionists. While he valued line as a means to describe contours and to le...Like many of the Impressionists, Degas was significantly influenced by Ukiyo-e Japanese prints, which suggested novel approaches to composition. The prints had bold linear designs and a sense of fl...There is a very interesting and puzzling dichotomy in the way Degas approached his female subjects. There is much evidence that he was a misogynist, and also, much to prove that he was enamored wit...Childhood
Edgar Degas was the eldest of five children of Célestine Musson de Gas, an American by birth, and Auguste de Gas, a banker. Edgar later changed his surname to the less aristocratic sounding 'Degas' in 1870. Born into a wealthy Franco-Italian family, he was encouraged from an early age to pursue the arts, though not as a long-term career. Following his graduation in 1853 with a baccalaureate in literature, the eighteen-year-old Degas registered at the Louvre as a copyist, which he claimed late...
Early Period and Training
In 1856, when Degas was aged 22, he traveled to Naples, Italy, to visit his aunt, the Baroness Bellelli and her family. This three-year trip was an important moment in his development, and resulted in the Realist portrait The Bellelli Family (1859). He spent countless hours combing the museums and galleries of Italy, carefully studying Renaissance works by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, among others. In 1864, while copying a picture by Velázquez at the Louvre, he met Édouard Manet, who by...
Mature Period
Although the 1860s was a productive period in Degas's career, his most renowned body of work was created in the 1870s. By this time he had discovered his true muse - Paris. He (much as Manet and other Impressionists) drew inspiration from its boulevards, cafés, shops, dance studios, drawing rooms, theaters, and operas. And he became well known for his close observation, devoting much time to capturing the detail of surrounding human beings. Perhaps for this reason he rejected the label 'Impre...
Learn about Edgar Degas, a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was influenced by Realism, Impressionism, and Japonism. Explore his paintings of women, dancers, and urban scenes, and his innovative techniques and perspectives.
- French
- July 19, 1834
- Paris, France
- September 27, 1917
3 days ago · Recent News. Edgar Degas (born July 19, 1834, Paris, France—died September 27, 1917, Paris) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was prominent in the Impressionist group and widely celebrated for his images of Parisian life.
- Richard J. Kendall
Edgar Degas. Edgar Degas ( UK: / ˈdeɪɡɑː /, US: / deɪˈɡɑː, dəˈɡɑː /; [1] [2] born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, French: [ilɛːʁ ʒɛʁmɛ̃ ɛdɡaʁ də ɡa]; 19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and ...
Mar 30, 2022 · Explore the works of Edgar Degas, the French impressionist painter who captured scenes of modern life with unusual viewpoints and lighting effects. See his self-portraits, double-portraits, horse races, dancers, and bathers in this image gallery.
