Possibly best known for his oils of ballet dancers Edgar Degas, the French impressionist who considered himself a realist was a prolific and exceptional artist. His works show free flowing brushstrokes, movement and are filled with emotion. Together with Degas paintings numerous pieces of sculpture, prints and sketches were produced in his lifetime.
Degas showed an early preference to painting although his father wanted him to study law. On a visit to Naples to see his aunt he started preliminary sketches for the well known work The Bellelli Family which depicted his family.
During a visit to New Orleans he painted an oil of an office with people dealing in cotton set in New Orleans. This is the only work that was purchased by a museum during his lifetime. On his return to Paris he started painting in earnest. He was a difficult man who during his life managed to alienate all his friends resulting in a lonely life and he died in 1917 alone.
The Dance Class is possibly one of his works that has been reproduced the most. Overall he did well over 1500 oils and sketches with a ballet theme. Even in his sculpting phases he did figures of dancers. These pieces are all filled with raw emotions, the stress of training clearly seen on the faces and in the body movements.
Degas drawings and paintings of people and horses are precise in detail and every muscle and line is perfectly executed. When he discovered photography he immediately embraced it and used it extensively. Some of his oils painted at that time reflect the subdued colors reproduced in photographs. Two famous paintings done in 1874 and 1876 of a ballet teacher and one of a class in rehearsal are painted photographic color tones.
The oil painting The Place de la Concorde has an almost photographic feel as the subjects appear to have been captured in motion. These works all have a quality that draws a viewer into the scene and leaves them with a feeling that both people and horses will soon move one. Many of his oils are painted as seen by an audience member looking towards dancers on stage. This is clearly seen in the delightful oil of musicians in an orchestra pit with the dancers in the background.
His nudes were mostly of woman preparing their toilette and doing their hair. One of the more famous ones is owned by Moscow's Pushkin Museum and is done on paper with pastels. The background is less busy and the body colors are soft and life-like.
He was not fond of working outdoors like painters of his time and preferred working in a studio. He used sketches, photos and his memory to create the scenes. His work is full of lighting and movement of the everyday lifestyle.
Recognized in his lifetime as a master the Degas paintings are classic examples of color, broken brushstrokes and movement. He created scenes that were timeless and would be enjoyed forever. His work is displayed throughout the world in museums and galleries.
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