Impressionism
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Edgar Degas
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| When: |
1834-1917 |
| Where: |
Paris, France |
| What: |
Subjects: |
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circus |
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opera |
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café |
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women at work |
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nudes |
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ballerinas. |
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contemporary life |
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had no interest in landscapes or concern about
effects of changing atmosphere and light. |
| How: |
Does not paint outdoors. |
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Share with the Impressionist the unplanned, spontaneous
scenes. |
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Unconventional, casual or even candid poses -
Interest in photography - snapshot |
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Often subjects are off-centred and sometimes,
cut off by the edges of the canvas. |
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| What: |
Contemporary Life |
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At the Races in the Country
c. 1872
Oil on canvas
36.5 x 55.9 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
The carriage at the right gets cut by the frame - Derived
from photography which he was deeply interested in.
Seems traditional - in the line of Realism rather than the
colour experiments made by the other Impressionists.
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L'absinthe
1876
Oil on canvas
92 x 68 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
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Use of zig-zag composition, derived from Japanese prints
which were very popular at that time.
Painting of a ‘slice of life’ of Parisian, rather
a study of alcoholism.
Woman - actress, Ellen Andree.
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Place de la Concorde
1875
Oil on canvas
78.4 x 117.5 cm
Gerstenberg/Scharf, Berlin
Hermitage, St Petersburg |
At the Stock Exchange
c. 1879
Oil on canvas
100 x 82 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
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Women Ironing
1884
Oil on canvas
76 x 81 cm)
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
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| What: |
Opera |
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Cabaret
c. 1877
Pastel over monotype on paper
24.1 x 44.5 cm
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington |
Singer with a Glove
c. 1878
Pastel and liquid medium on canvas
52.8 x 41.1 cm
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA |
Interested in the theaterical lighting, especially the footlight
which illuminate the face from below. |
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| What: |
Ballerinas
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Painted ballerinas in various stages: rehearsal, performance,
at rest or dressing up.
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Figures are often off-center and cropped by the
edge of the canvas. |
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Figures tend to be clustered to one side of the
painting, leaving a large area empty. |
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The Rehearsal
c. 1873-78
Oil on canvas
41 x 61.7 cm
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA |
Dancers Practicing at the Bar
1876-77
Oil on canvas
75.6 x 81.3 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
The Dance Class
1874
Oil on canvas
65 x 81 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris |
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The Dance Lesson
c. 1879
Oil on canvas
38 x 86.3 cm
Private collection |
The Star
1878
Pastel on paper
60 x 44 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
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The Dancing class
c. 1873-75
Oil on canvas
85 x 75 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris |
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| What: |
Pastels |
Due to failing eyesight, in th 1870s, Degas switched
from oil to pastel - draw and colour at the same time. |
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Two Dancers in Blue 1899
103x92cm
pastel.
Paris, Musee d'Orsay |
Four Dancers
c. 1899
151.1 x 180.2 cm
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Washington
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Blue Dancers
1899
pastel
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| What: |
Nudes |
Degas always made something entirely different
each time - ability to see the subject (woman taking a bath)
freshly over and over again. |
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The women do not exist as individuals - he seldom
personified them - faces often hidden. |
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Pose seemed awkward. |
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After The Bath
1895 |
The Tub
1886
pastel
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Woman at Her Toilette
1889
Pastel on paper
59 x 60 cm
Hermitage, St Petersburg
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