Edgar Degas
The Great Impressionist
A master artist and well renowned sculptor...
Degas' favorite form of art was portraits, and to which he added an impressionistic twist to each of his works. Over half of Degas' works show women dancing or in the nude because of his fascination with natural movement. While Degas spent most of his life painting, Degas began to sculpt more and more as his eyesight faded with age.
Edgar Degas is most known for his...
- Various paintings and sculptures involving dancers
- Use of Impressionism in his paintings
A life devoted to Paris
Edgar Degas was born in Paris in 1834 and lived in the city until his death in 1917. Degas was born to an upper-middle class family, his father a banker and his mother an amateur opera singer. Degas grew up in a very musical home, his mother often entertaining guests with her voice and his father supporting her in any way possible, and it was through that Degas grew an interest in the arts. Although he received a strict, classical education, Degas had shown a gift for drawing since he was a boy and decided to pursue a career in painting. In 1862, Degas met and grew a friendly rivalry with Edouard Manet while working at the Louvre. Edgar Degas' painting and sculptors are throughout the Louvre now a days and it was through his upbringing in Paris that Degas grew a love for the arts in the first place.
The Dance Class (1870)
Degas' most famous painting
Self Portrait (1863)
A young Degas
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (1880)
Degas' most famous sculpture