Edgar Degas Research Paper

Mary Lamberson
Mrs. Trusell
8th Grade English
March 27, 2017
Edgar Degas: Life and Works Edgar Degas, or the Painter of Dancers, can be said to be one of the best Impressionist painters (Biography.com Editors). The Impressionist movement started in Paris, France in April 1874 (Hirschmann 6). The Impressionists painted landscapes and everyday scenes instead of the usual art of things from the Bible or classical mythology (Hirschmann 6). Impressionistic art was also filled with careless paint slashes and strokes while classically trained artists made very precise brushwork (Hirschmann 6). Instead of paying close attention to detail, they showed artistic freedom that people would have said to look very sloppy (Hirschmann 6). From the beginning
From the age of eighteen, Degas had found his career as an artist (Biography.com Editors). He became truly involved and pledged to be an artist when he was allowed to copy works by the master painters at the Louvre in Paris, France (Biography.com Editors). To get to the place of being known as a great artist, there is always conflict in life. After Degas’s father died and dealing with his father’s estate, he found out that his brother, Rene, had created an enormous amount of business debts (“Edgar Degas Biography”). To keep the family name pure, Degas had to sell his art collection that he inherited and his house (“Edgar Degas Biography”). During this time, Degas was very dependent on the sales of his art (“Edgar Degas Biography”). One thing that impacted the selling of his art was his anti-Semitism. This came about when the Dreyfus Affair happened in France in 1894 (Biography.com Editors). Being anti-Semitic also cost Degas many of his friends and respect from the typically tolerant avant-garde/innovative art cliques (Biography.com Editors). Despite being anti-Sematic, Degas was and still is recognized as an amazing
Degas would describe his work as realistic; he called himself a realist (“Edgar Degas Biography”). He was different from impressionist painters. He was meticulous and would draw things over and over again until it was just right (Biography.com Editors). Also, when Degas would paint something, there would always be straight lines as opposed to the impressionists’ messy ones (Biography.com Editors). Though his lines were straight, the paintings would most always look blurred like an impressionistic painting (“Edgar Degas Biography”). Degas would also choose many different subjects in his art (“Edgar Degas Biography”). His color pallet was always different because of this (“Edgar Degas Biography”). Degas would not really convey many things through his paintings, but you can see how France was changing socially and economically (Biography.com Editors). You can also see that misogynistic ideas are present in his nude paintings of women, and you can see his intense anti-Semitism coming through (Biography.com Editors). The anti-Semitism came out in the last few decades of his life (“Edgar Degas Biography”). Some of his famous works are The Orchestra Musicians, Café-Concert aux Ambassadeurs, and Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando. Let’s walk through