In the sixties of the 19th century, an artistic direction arose in France, whose representatives, through their fleeting impressions of the surrounding world, sought to achieve a more natural and vivid image of it. It was called impressionism from the French word impression - impression. One of the prominent representatives of this trend was the artist Edgar Degas, whose works opened a new page in world painting.
Children's hobby for drawing
The future artist was born in 1834 in Paris in a wealthy family with aristocratic roots. His last name is written - de Ga (the particle "de" indicates a noble origin), but at an older age, Edgar, under the influence of overwhelming social ideas, changed it to a more democratic one - Degas.
A passion for drawing, and subsequently for painting, showed up at an early age, but his father - the manager and co-owner of one of the largest Paris banks - not sharing his son's hobbies, prophesied the future of a lawyer. However, material security allowed the young man not to care about his daily bread and devote all his time to his favorite pastime. So his early works appeared. Edgar Degas, according to researchers, already at that time showed the makings of a future perfectionist, repeatedly rewriting his paintings and striving to bring them to perfection.
Passion for the work of Ingres, and the beginning of study
Biographers note that among the recognized brush masters, Jean Auguste Ingres had the greatest influence on Degas, before whose work he worshiped his whole life, which left a noticeable imprint on his own works. At the age of twenty, Edgar Degas began painting in the studio of one of his idol’s students, Louis Lamot, now forgotten and widely known in those years.
Living in Paris, Edgar spends a lot of time in the halls of the Louvre, where, copying the canvases of the old masters, he tries to comprehend the secrets of their work. Having the material opportunity to travel, he also visits the best museums in Italy, where he gets acquainted with the masterpieces of painting of the geniuses of the Italian Renaissance - Giotto, Ghirlandaio, Bellini, Mantegna and other artists who became symbols of the greatest era in fine art.
First independent steps
Returning to Paris, Degas becomes the owner of his own workshop, which mainly works on the creation of portraits and paintings on a historical theme. Even in Florence, he created many paintings on which the young artist captured his Italian relatives, whose hospitality he had been using for several months. These works became evidence of the birth of a new portrait painter.
However, in the early sixties, Degas devoted his main attention in his works to historical canvases, with the help of which he hopes to achieve fame and recognition. He writes a number of paintings on antique and medieval subjects, but they are not successful. This becomes the reason for talking about the failure of the artist in this genre.
Perhaps the only truly mature painting created by Degas at the turn of the sixties is the portrait of his Florentine relatives - the Belleli family, which he had begun in Italy, and finished on his return from the trip. This large-sized canvas, on which the figures are depicted in full growth, incorporates both elements of the classical school of painting and many realistically represented features of the characters, made in a new artistic style at the time.
Acquaintance with the Impressionists
Truly turning point in the artist’s work was 1861, when he became acquainted with one of the founders of the impressionism that was emerging at that time, Eduard Manet. Thanks to him, Degas joined the circle of painters who devoted themselves to this new trend in art. But despite the common positions, among which an important place was occupied by the rejection of official academic art with its tortured and lifeless subjects, Degas also revealed certain discrepancies with new acquaintances.
Unlike many impressionists, he did not like to work in the open air - the open air, believing that this was scattering attention. The artist preferred the studio, where the situation allowed a more thoughtful and conscious approach to the creation of the picture. The plots of his works are mainly connected with the world of opera, theater and cafes.
Another, more significant difference between the work of Degas and the works of his new friends was the desire to create works of a social orientation, without embellishment, depicting his life. It is noted that while the Impressionists focused on light (the pictures of Monet and Manet can serve as a vivid example), then in Degas' paintings attention was focused on movement.
Many leading art historians classify his work as impressionism, but it should be borne in mind that attempts to divide artists and their works by styles are very conditional. Edgar Degas in this case only expresses the general impulse inherent in the art of his time, and does it quite peculiarly and individually.
Franco-Prussian war and subsequent years
The forced break in the artist's work was caused by the Franco-Prussian war that began in 1870. Degas, like his brother in art, Mane, volunteered for the front, where he first served in the infantry regiment, and then was transferred to artillery. Demobilized at the end of hostilities, in 1971 he was sent first to the UK, and then to his maternal relatives in America.
When two years later Degas returned to France, difficult times began for him. Father died, leaving behind significant debts. To preserve the reputation of the family, Edgar pays them, selling for this not only the collection of paintings by the old masters assembled in their family, but also the family house. For the first time in his life, he had to earn a living.
Participation in art exhibitions
The only way out of this situation was an attempt to sell their own works. Over the next two years, Edgar Degas becomes a participant in seven exhibitions organized by his friends impressionist painters, and, since his work is always popular with potential buyers, he is paying off his debts. At the same time, he is becoming widely known as one of the most striking painters of his time.
Works on the ballet theme
The artist’s works can be divided into several thematic areas, one of which, having gained popularity among the public, was the image of ballet scenes presented to them with grace, but without too much sentimentality. If the works of his predecessors, on which the ballet stars were portrayed in classic but lifeless poses, were most like the covers of magazines, the Degas dancers looked bright and laid-back, creating a sense of lively grace. Among the most famous works of this series are “Dance Class” (1873), “Dancer on the Stage” (1879), “Dancers at Rehearsals” (1879) and “Blue Dancers” (1890).
Scenes from the Life of Cafesantans
Another topic on which Edgar Degas wrote his works was the life of Parisian cafeshantans. Monceau Park, a decade after Degas sung in the works of Toulouse-Lautrec, was a favorite place where he found subjects for his paintings. The deliberate democratic nature of the cafe-chanting life, sometimes bordering on vulgarity, attracted the artist.
It is known that Degas did not give preference to any particular institution. He was equally eager to visit first-rate cafes on the Champs Elysees, and Belleville's very dubious taverns. Here he created unusually expressive scenes, seemingly snatched from life itself. This section of creativity is best known for the paintings “Concert in a Cafe” (1877), “Singer with a Glove” (1878) and “Singer on the Stage” (1877).
Other artworks
Edgar Degas, whose painting brought him well-deserved fame, worked a lot in a rather specific genre, using pastel - a mixture of coloring pigment, compressed in the form of crayons, with the addition of a sticky substance. This technique, which was not particularly difficult, made it possible to achieve brightness and freshness of tones. It was used at that time by many impressionist artists.
Original “flickering” strokes in combination with rich rich tones allowed Degas to create a unique colorful atmosphere in his works. Among the most famous works performed in this technique, one can name the painting “Blue Dancers”, which is stored in the Pushkin Moscow Museum of Fine Arts.
The variety of creativity Degas
When it comes to a large and versatile master, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish all his works by genre. Edgar Degas, who belongs to this particular category of artists, has left a rich legacy in various fields of art. In addition to paintings made by oil and pastel, his engravings and drawings received great fame. It is known that with age the artist began to lose his sight and preferred sculpture. Working with clay and gypsum, he was guided to a large extent by touch - hands replaced his eyes.
The sunset of the artist’s life
Having never arranged his personal life, Edgar Degas spent the last years alone. He was almost completely blind, which deprived him of the opportunity to continue working. Fortunately, the artist did not feel a material need, since fame and fame made it possible to sell previously created works for unprecedented prices for those times.
Edgar Degas, whose biography is described in the article, died on September 27, 1917. On his last journey he was escorted by the few surviving fellow artists, among whom were Claude Monet and Jean-Louis Forren. No long speeches were made during the burial - Edgar Degas himself asked for this in the last days of his life.
Works listed in the Golden Fund of World Art
Years passed. From the perspective of time, many works created in the past began to be perceived in a new way. Edgar Degas and his works became the topic of research of generations of art historians. The artist’s paintings are exhibited today in the best museums in the world and are the pride of the largest private collections.
Without the name Degas, it is impossible to imagine the development of French and world painting in the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, in the halls of the Louvre, young artists copy his canvases in the same way as he worked many years ago, reproducing the works of old masters. For them, his life devoted to art, all his works are an invaluable school. Edgar Degas rightfully became one of the outstanding artists of the world.