| In the aftermath of the popularity of BBC's vote on the greatest painting of all time hanging in the U.K., artworks from all over the globe are to be set against each other in a global contest. Voters will be asked to discriminate between the works of such artistic luminaries as Picasso, Pollock, Botticelli and Bosch -- to name a few. In the last couple of years, the BBC alone has constructed programs around votes to find the best books, greatest Briton, and the most influential philosopher, among other contests. Celebrity advocates will assist in launching the vote by selecting their favorites and a large gallery will work to promote the contest to the public at large.
Paintings In History:
Paintings of Edgar Degas:
By the end of the 80s, Degas, realized his desire of becoming famous. He was practical and could command his influence; regularly contacted many artists and such activity started irritating some of his colleagues. As further proof of being confident in his talent and not having to worry about his position, Degas had a narrow circle of close friends. He was spotted only at a few select public places, which attracted interest towards him from respectable art magazines in Paris. Degas carefully plans the productivity estimation, number of completed works, available for sale and his strategy in auctions with a group of reliable vendors. The most prominent of these vendors was Durand-Ruel, whom Degas met in the early 70s. Degas was aware of the commercial pressures in the press and seemed to be aware of the distinction between market-oriented "products" as he called them and the rest of his compositions. Primarily, “market-oriented” works were characterized by a high degree of workmanship and the latter were clearly more avant-garde. Several of them appeared to be in the gallery of Theo van Gogh (Vincent's brother). Although Degas moved away from a visibly prominent and the active role he played in the artist’s community in Paris, his influence on younger generation grew. Degas never took any students but many artists such as Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec have acknowledged the influence of Edgar Degas in their works.
It is not easy to evaluate the works of Degas in later years. Somewhere in 1886, he stopped using record books and researchers, according to previous records, have gathered sufficient information about the earlier periods of his artistic career. Starting from the 90s, the works by Degas bear the impressions of an aging man, whose body, soul, and morale have withstood the ordeals for the last 27 years of his life. Wit and humor gave way to a more serious tone and creative productivity gradually declined due to impending blindness. It was noticed that, in the works of this period, Degas completely paid tribute to the abstract elements of his art. The color intensity increased and the lines became more energetic and acquired expressiveness. Although, the space, as before, remained theatrical (unrealistic) or in indefinite shape, now it's been mostly bathers. Nevertheless, they pose the strong, inflexible will of the artist. Often, these later works were interpreted, simple, as result of the old age ailments of artist, depressed by progressive blindness, which had become intolerable and suffering from melancholy and loneliness, which turned into anti-Semite under the influence of the Dreyfus case. Yes, all the above said is true, but it is also true that Degas did not lose the flexibility of his mind, he remained a bright controversial personality and was in pursuit of new methods in art.
By 1882, the eyesight of the artist rapidly deteriorated and Degas starts using a pastel technique and then turned towards sculpture. Figures, depicted in his later paintings, were always large-sized as if the artist looks at them from very close range. Edgar Degas was virtually a universal artist not only in terms of genres but also in terms of the technique, in which he carried out his work. Gradually, Degas completely moves away from oil to pastel, since this technique enabled him to feel close to the surface of the painting and allowed him to strain his sight less. But, pastel flakes off from paintings and the painting must be secured with a special solution and as a result, paints become darker. So, in the end, Degas invented a method to make oil, with respect to its characteristics, look close to pastels and started painting using oils pastels. |
