Hilaire Germain Edgar De Gas was born July 19, 1834 in Paris, the son of a wealthy banker. He attended Lycee Louis Le Grand and later Faculty of Law, although he preferred studying the paintings in the Lourvre, rather than studying law. In 1855 he enrolled in Ecole des Beaux Artes in Paris then went to Italy for five years to study the old masters of the Renaissance.
Returning to Paris, Degas be
...see more »gan exhibiting annually at the Salon held there, then joined the shows of the impressionists in 1874. He was conflicted between traditional art and modern art, so created his own technique that combined the use of light from the impressionist genre with the use of space that was influenced by the Japanese art of ukiyo-e. This is a type of woodblock prints utilized since the seventeenth century by Japanese artists. Degas held his first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris in 1892.
Degas was known for his nudes - either in the bath or as they dressed - so had an array of props in his studio that included a bathtub, sofa and a bed. He was a great opera enthusiast, so his paintings often depicted the world of entertainment, including his famed ballet paintings. As he grew older, Degas ventured into other areas of the arts including sculpting, pastels, and printmaking. His sculptures were formed with wax or clay of ballerinas or racehorses. His desire to find new techniques led him to collaborate with Camille Pissarro and Mary Cassatt on in the graphic design of etchings and lithographs, producing monotypes that were considered outstanding.
Degas served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War and suffered eye damage that caused him to stop painting in 1912 due to blindness. When he died on September 27, 1917, his death went almost unnoticed by a world that was focused on World War I. Degas left more than 2000 oil and pastel paintings and over 150 sculptures when he died. His work can be found in private collections, galleries and museums and at art retailers around the world.« see less
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