Essays On Edgar Degas

For example, he tilted his perspective to emphasize a sudden or informal movement by a figure.

He was really short tempered and was never happy with any of his artwork. Degas' art reflects a concern for the psychology of movement and expression and the harmony of line and continuity of contour.

There is a very interesting and puzzling dichotomy in the way Degas approached his female subjects.

There is much evidence that he was a misogynist, and also, much to prove that he was enamored with the female form that he attempted to represent it in its most absolute state through hundreds of painstaking studies.

Like many of the Impressionists, Degas was significantly influenced by Ukiyo-e Japanese prints, which suggested novel approaches to composition.

The prints had bold linear designs and a sense of flatness that was very different from the traditional Western picture with its perspective view of the world.

He rejected the academic ideal of the mythical or historical subject, and instead sought his figures in modern situations, such as at the ballet.

Degas's academic training encouraged a strong classical tendency in his art, which conflicted with the approach of the Impressionists.

Whatever the reality may be, his studies and output furthered the exploration of the figure and the portrait in all of the visual arts.

Edgar Degas was the eldest of five children of Célestine Musson de Gas, an American by birth, and Auguste de Gas, a banker.