| Edgar Degas (July 19 1834, Paris - September 27 1917) – was a French painter, one of the most outstanding and original representatives of the impressionist movement.
Biography and creative work:
Degas was born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, in a rich aristocratic family of Augustin De Gas and Celestine Musson. He was the eldest amongst five children. At the age of 13, Edgar lost his mother, which was a serious blow to him. Later, in his youth, under the influence of new social ideas, Edgar changed his name of De Gas to the less "aristocratic" Degas.
The artist's father, Augustin De Gas, headed the French branch of the major bank, founded in Italy, by Rene Hilaire de Gas, grandfather of Edgar Degas. Rene Hilaire de Gas migrated to Italy during the French Revolution assuming that his life was in danger. Edgar's mother, Celestine Musson, was from a French family, which settled in America. Her father was a broker in the Cotton Exchange in New Orleans.
Early period:
The desire to paint began to manifest in Degas during his childhood. However, his father wanted a law career for his son but Edgar did not have much desire and the capabilities to jurisprudence, since he belonged to a wealthy family, the condition of the family allowed him to concentrate on painting without caring much about his livelihood. Since there was no acute need of money, Degas did not sell his works and worked on them again and again, striving for perfection. Degas was a clear perfectionist, striving for his passion for perfect harmony till the loss of sense of reality. Even in the beginning of his long career, as people joked, one can stop working on paintings after selecting Degas paintings.
At the age of 20 (1854), Degas becomes an apprentice in the studio of, famous at that time, artist Lamothe, who was in turn a disciple of great Ingres. Edgar had an opportunity to meet Ingres in a known family and retained his appearance for a long time in his memory & also retained his love to Ingres melodious lines and clear manner throughout his life. Degas also liked other great painters such as Nicolas Poussin, Hans Holbein and duplicated their works from the Louvre with such diligence and skill that it was difficult to distinguish between his copy and the original.
Louis Lamothe was a personality, who was sufficiently famous in those days, though the creative works of this artist are practically forgotten in modern days. Lamothe could inspire Degas to develop a love towards clear contours, which were valued by Ingres in the paintings. In 1855, Degas could meet with Ingres, who was 75 yrs old at that time, and even got an advice from him "Draw paintings, young man, as many as possible from memory or from nature". Courbet and Delacroix had a definite influence on the creative works of Degas, but it is true that Ingres’s authority was acknowledged by the artist until his death.
Edgar studied the creative works of great painters in the Louvre and visited Italy (where his relatives from father’s side lived) several times during his lifetime. In Italy, he had the opportunity to get acquainted with the masters of the Italian Renaissance. Edgar Degas was particularly interested in old Italian painters such as Andrea Mantegna, Bellini, Ghirlandaio and Giotto. During this period, his idols were Andrea Mantegna and Paolo Veronese, whos spiritual and colorful paintings of had literally amazed the young artist. The sharp and correct picture, keen observation, combined either with a noble-restrained painting style (portrait of brother, 1856-1857, Louvre, Paris; The Bellelli Family, 1859, Louvre, Paris) or with hard realistic veracity (Portrait of Roman beggar, 1857, private collection) were characteristic in his early works.
During the 1860s, Edgar Degas opened his own workshop in Paris. Degas creative work concentrated more on portraits but he also gave a lot of attention to historical canvases. While staying in Italy, Degas made a series of portraits, depicting members of his family. After that, portrait painting remained one of his intense hobbies for several years alternating with historical themes. However, in the early 1860s, Degas became interested again with the scenes from contemporary life and especially with races. |
This Tuesday is the 177th birthday of one of the most famous French artists - Edgar Degas. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, even though he more preferred to be called a realist.
Degas started painting seriously very early in his life. Obsessed with painting, he turned his room into an artist studio by the age of 18. His father - a wealthy French banker - was originally against Edgar's love for art and wanted him to become a lawyer instead. At the age of 21, Degas dropped out of Law school and went to Italy for three years where he copied the works of Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian. Degas talent flourished under the guidance of his first teacher
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, whose first advice to Edgar was "draw lines, young man, many lines..."
