Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas (1834–1917), French painter, sculptor, and printmaker known for his sensitive portrayals of dance, modern life, and psychological nuance. Explore his biography, art style, famous works, and legacy.
Introduction
Hilaire-Germain Edgar Degas (July 19, 1834 – September 27, 1917) was a French artist whose work straddles Realism and Impressionism, yet maintains a distinctive voice. He is best known for his evocative depictions of dancers, but his oeuvre also embraces scenes of modern life—women at their toilette, laundresses, racehorses—as well as prints, drawing, and sculpture.
Degas was less comfortable with the label “Impressionist” than many of his peers. He insisted on control, draftsmanship, and structure, while still engaging with the energy of modern Parisian society.
Early Life and Background
Edgar Degas was born in Paris into a well-to-do family.
His mother died when he was about 13 years old, a loss that deeply affected him.
Education and Formative Influences
In 1853, Degas enrolled in law school, but did little with it.
That same year, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts, studying drawing under Louis Lamothe.
From 1856 to 1859, Degas traveled in Italy, copying works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and other Renaissance masters.
Artistic Career and Major Phases
From History Painting to Modern Life
Degas initially aspired to be a history painter, tackling grand subjects like The Young Spartans Exercising and The Daughter of Jephthah.
By the late 1860s, Degas’s attention turned especially to ballet dancers—not as glamorous performers but in rehearsal, rest, behind the scenes, adjusting costumes or shoes.
Style, Technique & Innovations
Mastery of Line & Drawing: Degas never abandoned solid drawing foundations. He believed in precision of form and structure—skills he reinforced by copying masters and stressing “lines.”
Compositional Cropping & Unusual Viewpoints: Degas often framed his subjects with unexpected cutoffs, partial figures, or off-center compositions. These borrow visual freedom from photography and print influences.
Pastel & Mixed Media: In addition to oils, Degas became highly skilled in pastel drawing, layering, and procedures that blend drawing and painting.
Sculpture & Wax Modeling: Though much less known, Degas created sculptures, notably The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (1881), a wax figure dressed in real clothing and hair. He rarely exhibited sculptures during his life; many were cast posthumously.
Selective Embrace of Impressionist Tendencies: While associated with the Impressionists in subject and circle, Degas opposed plein air painting, preferred interior scenes, and insisted on deliberation rather than spontaneity.
Personality & Personal Dimensions
Degas was somewhat reclusive, valuing solitude and privacy.
In politics and social attitudes, Degas held complex positions. He became known in later life for ill temper and controversial views, including episodes of anti-Semitism. Some of these dark aspects complicate his legacy.
In his later years, Degas’s eyesight deteriorated, which limited his capacity to paint.
Famous Works & Highlights
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The Bellelli Family (c. 1858–67) — a psychologically charged portrait of his aunt’s household.
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The Ballet Class (1871–74) — among his iconic ballet works.
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Dancers at the Barre, Dancers in Blue — examples of his pastel/painting work on dancers. (Seen in the images above)
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L’Absinthe (1875–76) — a café scene evoking isolation and modern life.
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The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (1881) — his famous sculptural experiment combining wax and cloth.
Legacy and Influence
Degas’s influence is both broad and subtle:
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He expanded what could be the subject of high art—everyday moments, backstage life, fleeting gestures—while retaining compositional rigor.
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His techniques in pastel, drawing, and composition influenced later artists and generations seeking to balance structure and expression.
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Museums worldwide display his paintings, drawings, and casts. The Tate, the National Gallery, and Musée d’Orsay hold prominent Degas collections.
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Degas’s willingness to depart from conventions (cropping, viewpoint, unfinished passages) foreshadows modernist experiments.
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His complex personality, including both the brilliance and the flaws, remains a topic in art history discussions about artistic genius and human contradiction.
Selected Quotes & Reflections
Degas is less known for polished aphorisms, but a few remarks reflect his attitude:
“No art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and of the study of the great masters.”
This statement underscores how thoroughly he thought through composition, structure, and tradition.
Lessons from Edgar Degas
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Observation + Structure
Even when depicting spontaneity and modern life, Degas shows that careful structure, drawing, and compositional thought are essential. -
Work with constraints
Because he refused plein air painting, he confronted light and movement from interiors or controlled settings, insisting on rigor over convenience. -
Embrace the fragment
Degas’s cropping of figures, partial views, and suggestive space show how telling less can sometimes mean showing more. -
Cross media, without ego
He moved among painting, pastel, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture—but always subordinate to the vision, not to techniques. -
Acknowledge complexity in the artist
Genius and flaw often sit together. Appreciating art deeply means seeing both beauty and contradiction.
Conclusion
Edgar Degas stands as a singular figure in modern art: an artist of intelligence, discipline, and sympathy for the fleeting moments of human gesture and social life. He blended old masters’ respect for form with modern life’s immediacy, reframing the everyday as worthy of attention. His dancers, laundresses, theater-goers, and even his sculpted dancer whisper a complicated dialogue between the world as seen and the world as felt.