Edgar Degas (, ;; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Edgar Degas (, ;; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronzesculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers.Trachtman, Paul, 15Degas and His Dancers16, Smithsonian Magazine, April 2003 Although Degas is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist,Gordon and Forge 1988, p. 31 and did not paint outdoors as many Impressionists did.
Degas was a superb draftsman, and particularly masterly in depicting movement, as can be seen in his rendition of dancers and bathing female nudes. In addition to ballet dancers and bathing women, Degas painted racehorses and racing jockeys, as well as portraits. His portraits are notable for their psychological complexity and their portrayal of human isolation.Brown 1994, p. 11
At the beginning of his career, Degas wanted to be a history painter, a calling for which he was well prepared by his rigorous academic training and close study of classical art. In his early thirties he changed course, and by bringing the traditional methods of a history painter to bear on contemporary subject matter, he became a classical painter of modern life.Turner 2000, p. 139
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