Artist. A painter and sculptor, he was son of a banker, and although he prepared for the law, he abandoned it for painting, studying at the School of Art and, in Italy, copying 15th- and 16th-century masters. He was gifted as a draftsman and was a brilliantly-subtle-and-penetrating portraitist. He exhibited for six years in the Salon (1865 to 1870), but later ceased showing there and exhibited with the Impressionists, whose works he admired, although his approach often differed from theirs. Trained in the linear tradition of Ingres, Degas shared with the Impressionists their directness of expression and the interest in, and portrayal of, contemporary life. His favorite subjects were ballet dancers, women at their toilette, café life, and racetrack scenes. Gradually, he turned away from the medium of oil painting because of his failing eyesight. He produced more freely-executed, glowing pastels and charcoal drawings. His works in sculpture include many notable studies of dancers and horses.
Artist. A painter and sculptor, he was son of a banker, and although he prepared for the law, he abandoned it for painting, studying at the School of Art and, in Italy, copying 15th- and 16th-century masters. He was gifted as a draftsman and was a brilliantly-subtle-and-penetrating portraitist. He exhibited for six years in the Salon (1865 to 1870), but later ceased showing there and exhibited with the Impressionists, whose works he admired, although his approach often differed from theirs. Trained in the linear tradition of Ingres, Degas shared with the Impressionists their directness of expression and the interest in, and portrayal of, contemporary life. His favorite subjects were ballet dancers, women at their toilette, café life, and racetrack scenes. Gradually, he turned away from the medium of oil painting because of his failing eyesight. He produced more freely-executed, glowing pastels and charcoal drawings. His works in sculpture include many notable studies of dancers and horses.
Bio by: Jelena
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