Edgar Degas Research Paper

Edgar Degas was a painter that was intrigued by subjects from urban life. His style of work was created by using photos of a scene that had taken place, and from his working drawings. Degas had academic training at the Ecole des Beaus-Arts in the mid-1850s. He also spent three years studying abroad in Italy while learning from the Old Masters. Edgar Degas’s work closely resembles Realism, however not in the way they appear, but how they portray social commentary. When looking more in depth at his work, it may suggest an Impressionistic style of painting, and experts even say his work identifies similar to Manet’s. Degas, after his period of painting psychologically portraits of his friends and relatives, began to observe the modern life
Edgar Degas was a true mastermind and has a unique way of inviting his audience into his works of art. Degas painted scenes that were personal to the viewer, almost as if the spectator themselves had been there for that very moment. Degas took pleasure in catching his subjects unaware or off guard, which is very typical with impressionist paintings. Degas began to create his works with ballerinas as the main subject, and that subject immediately had an audience of interest. He established his following with the dancers’ front and center, and once it took off, he became known as the artist who created the dancers. Edgar always had the viewer in mind when creating his paintings. An observer knows this is true, due to the fact that when they stare upon his work, they always appear to be present in the room being depicted. The Rehearsal on Stage, is possibly one of his most recognized pieces of art. The characters are all in their natural and raw positions, “Most ballet scenes show dancers performing for an audience, but Degas shows the dancers in a different way. The dancers are not only dancing but they are stretching and
2). It is as if the viewer is part of a camera crew, or floating above the stage. Somber color choices were made to reinforce the mood that is set on stage, yet, accent highlights from the women’s dresses do not steal away the ominous setting. Quick and well premeditated brush strokes generate the light texture style of Degas’s work. His work is elegant in spite of how rapid his paintings appear. Edgar Degas used an ink base layering on bristol board with a pastel coating over it. Then mounted it upon canvas. It can be observed now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New