description Edgar Degas Overview
Edgar Degas was a French artist associated with Impressionism, notable for ballet dancers, racecourses, and pastel works made in late 19th-century Paris.
help Edgar Degas FAQ
Why did Edgar Degas paint so many ballet dancers?
Degas was fascinated by the backstage labor, rehearsal, and discipline of ballet in late 19th-century Paris. His dancer works often show practice rooms, awkward poses, and cropped viewpoints rather than idealized stage glamour.
Was Degas really an Impressionist?
Degas exhibited with the Impressionists, but he differed from painters such as Monet because he preferred drawing, indoor scenes, and composed figures. He often called himself a realist rather than an outdoor painter of fleeting light.
What materials did Degas use in his later dancer works?
Degas made many late works in pastel, a medium that let him build dense color and powdery surfaces. He also made sculptures, including the famous Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.
What subjects besides dancers did Degas paint?
Degas painted racecourses, cafe-concert scenes, laundresses, bathers, and portraits. His horse-racing pictures show the same interest in movement and framing found in his ballet scenes.
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