Edgar Degas: biography, the most famous works. Edgar Degas is a French impressionist painter

In the sixties of the XIX century in France, the artistic direction was born, whose representatives, through their fleeting impressions of the surrounding world, sought to achieve a more natural and lively image of it. It received the name Impressionism from the French word impression - impression. One of the brightest representatives of this direction was the artist Edgar Degas, whose works opened a new page in world painting.

Children's hobby for drawing

The future artist was born in 1834 in Paris in a wealthy family that had aristocratic roots. His name is written - de Ga (a particle "de" indicates a noble origin), but at an older age Edgar, under the influence of the social ideas that overflowed him, changed it to a more democratic one - Degas.

Passion for drawing, and later for painting, manifested itself at an early age, but his father - the manager and co-owner of one of the major Parisian banks - without sharing the hobbies of his son, prophesied to him the future of a lawyer. However, the material security allowed the young man not to take care of daily bread and devote all his time to his favorite occupation. So his early works appeared. Edgar Degas, in the opinion of the researchers, already at that time showed the inclinations of the future perfectionist, repeatedly rewriting his pictures and striving to bring them to perfection.

Enthusiasm for creativity, and the beginning of studies

Biographers note that among the recognized masters of the brush, the greatest influence on Degas was made by Jean Auguste Ingres, before the work of which he always bowed down, which left a noticeable imprint on his own works. Edgar Degas, at the age of twenty, began painting in the studio of one of his disciples, Louis Lamotte, now forgotten, and in those years was widely known.

Living in Paris, Edgar spends a lot of time in the halls of the Louvre, where, copying the canvases of old masters, he tries to understand the secrets of their creativity. Having the material opportunity to travel, he also visits the best museums in Italy, where he acquaints himself with the masterpieces of the painting of the geniuses of the Italian Renaissance - Giotto, Ghirlandaio, Bellini, Mantegna and other artists who have become symbols of the greatest era in the visual arts.

First independent steps

Returning to Paris, Degas becomes the owner of his own workshop, which mainly works on the creation of portraits and paintings on a historical theme. Even in Florence, he was created many paintings, on which the young artist captured his Italian relatives, whose hospitality he enjoyed for several months. These works became evidence of the birth of a new master-portraitist.

However, at the beginning of the sixties, Degas paid the main attention in his work to historical canvases, through which he hopes to achieve fame and recognition. He writes a number of paintings on ancient and medieval subjects, but they do not have success. This is the reason for talking about the insolvency of the artist in this genre.

Perhaps the only really mature picture created by Degas at the turn of the sixties is the portrait of his Florentine relatives - the Bellelli family, started by him in Italy, and finished when he returned from the trip. This large canvas, in which the figures are depicted in full growth, absorbed both elements of the classical school of painting, as well as many realistically presented features of the characters, made in a new for those times artistic manner.

Acquaintance with the Impressionists

A truly crucial in the artist's work was 1861, when he met one of the founders of the Impressionism that was emerging at the time Edward Manet. Thanks to him, Degas entered the circle of artists who devoted themselves to this new trend in art. But despite common positions, among which an important place was occupied by the rejection of official academic art with its tortured and lifeless plots, certain differences also appeared with new acquaintances of Degas.

Unlike many impressionists, he did not like to work in the open-air - open air, believing that it dispels attention. The artist preferred the studio, where the atmosphere allowed for a more thoughtful and conscious approach to creating the picture. Plots of his works are mainly connected with the world of opera, theater and cafes.

Another, more significant difference between Degas' creativity and the works of his new friends was the desire to create works of social orientation, without embellishments depicting his life around him. It is noted that if the Impressionists focused on the light (a vivid example can serve as the paintings of Monet and Manet), in the paintings of Degas attention is accentuated on the movement.

Many leading art critics consider his work to be Impressionism, but one should take into account that the attempts to divide artists and their works in styles are very arbitrary. Edgar Degas in this case only expresses the general outburst inherent in the art of his time, and does it in a rather peculiar and individual way.

Franco-Prussian War and subsequent years

Forced break in the artist's work was caused by the Franco-Prussian war that began in 1870. Degas, like his fellow mane art, went volunteer to the front, where he served first in the infantry regiment, and then was transferred to artillery. Demobilized after the end of hostilities, he in 1971 sent first to the UK, and then to his relatives on the maternal line to America.

When Degas returned to France two years later, difficult times began for him. His father passed away, leaving behind considerable debts. To preserve the reputation of the family, Edgar pays them, selling for this not only a collection of paintings of old masters assembled in their family, but also a family house. For the first time in his life he had to make a living.

Participation in art exhibitions

The only way out of this situation was an attempt to sell their own works. Edgar Degas in the next two years becomes a participant in seven exhibitions organized by his friends, impressionist artists, and, since his work is an invariable success with potential buyers, is calculated with debts. At the same time, he becomes widely known as one of the most outstanding painters of his time.

Works dedicated to the ballet theme

The artist's works can be divided into several thematic areas, one of which, won popularity with the public, was the image of ballet scenes, presented to them with grace, but without extra sentimentality. If the works of his predecessors, in which the ballet stars were portrayed in classical but lifeless poses, were most like the covers of magazines, the Degas dancers looked bright and at ease, creating a feeling of lively grace. Among the most famous works of this series are "Dance Class" (1873), "Dancer on Stage" (1879), "Dancers at Rehearsals" (1879) and "Blue Dancers" (1890).

Scenes from the life of the cafes

Another topic on which he wrote his works, Edgar Degas, was the life of the Parisian cafes. A favorite place where he found the plots for his paintings was the park Monceau, a decade after Degas sung in the work of Toulouse-Lautrec. Narochitaya democracy of cafe life, bordering at times with vulgarity, attracted the artist.

It is known that Degas did not give preference to certain institutions. He equally eagerly attended and the first-rate cafes on the Champs Elysees, and the very dubious pubs of Belleville. Here they were created unusually expressive scenes, it seemed, snatched from life itself. This section of creativity is best known for the paintings "Concert in a Cafe" (1877), "The Singer with a Glove" (1878) and also "The Singer on the Stage" (1877).

Other works of art

Edgar Degas, whose painting earned him well-deserved fame, worked a lot in a rather specific genre, using a pastel - a mixture of pigment, pressed together in the form of chalk, with the addition of a sticky substance. This technique, which was not particularly difficult, allowed to achieve brightness and freshness of tones. She was used at that time by many Impressionist artists.

Peculiar "flickering" strokes combined with rich, rich tones enabled Degas to create a unique colorful atmosphere in his works. Among the most famous works made in this technique, you can name the painting "Blue Dancers", stored in the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts named after Pushkin.

Variety of creativity Degas

When it comes to a large and versatile master, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish all of his works by genre. Edgar Degas, who belongs to this category of artists, left a rich heritage in the most diverse areas of fine arts. In addition to oil and pastel paintings, his engravings and drawings were well known. It is known that with age the artist began to lose sight and gave preference to sculpture. Working with clay and gypsum, he was guided largely by touch - his hands replaced his eyes.

Sunset Artist's Life

And did not arrange his personal life, Edgar Degas spent the last few years alone. He was almost completely blind, which deprived him of the opportunity to continue working. Fortunately, the artist did not experience any material need, since fame and fame allowed him to sell the works he had previously created for unprecedented prices for those times.

Edgar Degas, whose biography is described in the article, died on September 27, 1917. In the last way he was escorted by a few still surviving fellow artists, among whom were Claude Monet and Jean-Louis Forren. During the burial, long speeches were not made - Edgar Degas himself asked about it in the last days of his life.

Works whose list entered the gold fund of world art

Years have passed. From the standpoint of time, many works created in the past began to be perceived in a new way. Edgar Degas and his works became the topic of research of generations of art critics. The artist's paintings are exhibited today in the best museums in the world and are the pride of the largest private collections.

Without the name of Degas, it is impossible to imagine the development of French and world painting of the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today in the halls of the Louvre, young artists copy his paintings as well as many years ago he worked, reproducing the work of old masters. For them, an invaluable school is his life, given to art, all works. Edgar Degas was rightfully one of the most outstanding artists in the world.