What to our ancestors would have been blurred and defective images are now accepted as depicting motion. How our perception has changed, thanks to photography.
Degas
A century ago today, Edgar Degas died in Paris. Was he an Impressionist, a misogynist, or just the odd man out?
A mere theme, or an obsession? During his later career, Degas’ pastels of nude women getting out of the bath and drying dominated his art. Why?
Most of Degas’ painting are of and about women. Using some of his finest works, this explores how he portrayed ‘the modern woman’, from ironing to the brothel.
These fascinating works are little appreciated. Here are some clues as to their readings, including some links to contemporary novels about the dark side of the ballet – and more.
The evolution of his paintings of ballet dancers, and a look at some themes of his paintings of individual dancers and small groups.
Degas a painter of landscapes? Yes, about 7% of his total output were primarily landscapes, including some of his earliest and last works.
Later narrative paintings may have drawn on new detective fiction and the vogue for problems paintings, which invited the viewer to invent their own story.
For his first decade as a professional artist, he painted narrative works and portraits. Here are some of his little-known narrative paintings.
A succinct summary of the biography of Degas, told with the aid of 12 of his key works, from history painting to the late landscapes.
The Eclectic Light Company 