Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

French painter and sculptor

The French painter and sculptor Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was born in Paris on 19 July 1834. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Louis Lamothe.

Impressionist circle

In the beginning of his career Edgar Degas painted history paintings and portraits. In 1865 he became acquainted with Edouard Manet and members of the proto-impressionist circle. Three years later Degas painted his first impressionist pictures of stage scenes and ballet rehearsals.

Everyday life

After 1870 he used motifs from contemporary, everyday life, such as women ironing, laundresses, and scenes from the racetrack. His eye vision began to trouble him.
Regularly he took part in the impressionist exhibitions, despite his critical outlook on the movement.

Female nude

In 1881 his painted wax sculpture entitled "Little dancer of fourteen years" aroused much controversy. The female nude, depicted in a bedroom or brothel setting, took on a central importance in Degas' oeuvre. Degas appointed Paul Durand-Ruel as his sole representative art dealer.
After 1895 he abandoned oils completely in favor of pastels.
After many years of being almost blind Edgar Degas died in Paris on 27 September 1917.

Varied collection of works of Edgar Degas

The Art Institute of Chicago is fortunate to possess a rich and varied collection of works in all media by Edgar Degas (1834-1917), the most versatile and incisive of the French Impressionists. Ranging from the intimate domestic portraits of Degas's early career to the vigorous studies of dancers and bathers of his late years, the 35 works featured in this volume, along with a number of details, provide insight into the artist's astonishing achievements as a draftsman, printmaker, painter, and sculptor. An essay on Degas's life and work by noted scholar Jean Sutherland Boggs traces the patterns of thematic innovation and technical experimentation that resulted in a quintessentially modern, and therefore continually compelling, body of work.

Degas by Jean Sutherland Boggs

Degas by Jean Sutherland Boggs and Susan F. Rossen
Publisher: Abrams, Harry N Inc
ISBN: 0810963248

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