Artist-impressionist Edgar Degas: paintings, sculptures and biography

Impressionist artist Edgar Degas was born in the capital of France, his father was a banker. Drawing the boy studied at the School of Fine Arts. His talent was noticeable from childhood, but to create real masterpieces, he began much later.

Paintings on historical themes

At the end of the 1850s, when Edgar was in Italy, he managed to get acquainted with the work of old artists. Soon he returned to France and wrote several paintings based on historical subjects (a match between Spartan boys and girls, Semiramis, laying a city, etc.). But the classical ones in these canvases were, perhaps, only the themes: the Greeks at Edgar looked like the inhabitants of Paris, and the manner of the image was quite uninhibited and fresh.

Portraits

In the 1860's, the artist wrote several amazing portraits, something reminiscent of the works of Engr, but in general, very original and recognizable. In these paintings, the qualities characteristic of Deg's works are already clearly visible: objectivity, the desire to accurately convey all the details, noble colors, elegance. The letter can be called soft, like that of Engr, but in style the canvases are similar to the masterpieces of Manet. A portrait of a woman with flowers deserves special attention - this has never happened in the history of painting. The artist places the lady with the edge without any doubts, and part of her body is cut off.

Fashionable trends in art. What did Degas portray?

From the 1860s to the 1870s, the artist often visits the café Gerbois, and occasionally peeps into the "New Athens". These institutions were often visited by Manet and his comrades. Degas' paintings are regularly shown at exhibitions of Impressionist artists. What was considered relevant at the time? First of all, the embodiment in the canvases of direct emotions, in addition, modern artists did not shy away from immersion in the life of the common people, they drew inspiration from there. Edgar Degas, whose paintings leave no one indifferent, stood out from the crowd of impressionists by depicting exclusively figurative compositions, but soon he stopped limiting himself to portraits and began to write riders on horseback, jumps, plots in cabaret and cafes, washers, seamstresses, dancers , As well as girls, putting themselves in order.

The Parisian creator considered the meaning of his activity a demonstration of the truth of life. By the way, he was always against her embellishment.

A surprising paradox, the anticipation of modern cinema

Each picture of Degas is the result of lengthy observations and exhausting work to turn them into a finished image. In his canvases there was nothing immediate, he pondered over every detail for a long time, and in this he was similar to Poussin. But all his pictures are different in that they depict a moment, a very fragile moment. It would seem that Edgar Degas saw a certain image quite by accident and hastily depicted him. This is the paradox. When looking at the picture of the artist, it may seem that it has frozen for only a second, and soon all the details on it will come into motion. And so it should be. So plausibly Degas conveyed the wild rhythm of life, characteristic of his time. The artist felt a weakness for the movement and wanted to depict only him. Renoir said that this is generally characteristic of many creators of that era. Here Edgar Degas, whose biography is full of interesting facts, wrote the corresponding pictures: running horses, rehearsals for dancers, ballets, women, ironing underwear, combing, dressing and washing girls. The canvases of the Parisian creator without exaggeration can be called a collection of human movements and poses. In addition, they differ in their original foreshortening, thanks to which even a fixed image may seem hesitant. Many Impressionists added images of oriental engravings to their creations, but Degas never did it. However, they were, no doubt, close to him, because they were also dynamic.

The artist can be considered in a sense a prophet, as he preceded the emergence of modern photography and films. It is interesting that the people depicted on his canvases seem to be captured not by an ordinary, but by a hidden camera. As for the girls putting themselves in order, Edgar Degas said that until some time, the naked representatives of the fair sex appeared in pictures in such unnaturally erotic poses that it seemed as if there was an observer before whom they were flaunting. And his women are completely relaxed and do not try to please anyone, but are completely engaged in washing, combing and dressing.

Prose gives birth to poetry

Degas always wanted to penetrate the mysteries of life, and he can be considered a romantic kind, and an objective observer at the same time. In his paintings there are beautiful moments, and a rough truth.

You can understand this by examining his paintings, based on ballet. He depicts both a theatrical "backstage", and a fabulous performance unfolding on the stage. Rustic and absolutely unromantic dancers turn before our eyes in elegant fairies, it is prose that gives rise to poetry. How well understood this pattern Edgar Degas! The ballerina becomes an elegant butterfly, it is only necessary for her to begin her dance.

Using pastels, changing the style

With age, Degas increasingly turns to pastels, usually by combining it with gouache, lithography or monotype. She liked him because of her noble softness, combined with the richness and severity of the hue, as well as beautiful haze. Over time, the artist's style becomes more and more monumental. There is no more variety of small details, and the color and line merge into one. Quite a tangible change in creativity. As for Degas's later paintings, the most important place in them is color, this radiant, free, amazing element. In the paintings depicting ballerinas written at the end of the century, the artist, still skillfully fixing the moment, is already heading towards a more monumental vision of the twentieth century, he can even be considered a harbinger of Fauvism.

Figurines

Virtually all his life, Degas did sculptures: he made clay and colored wax figures of running horses, dancers in elegant poses and girls putting themselves in order. Toward the end of his life, the artist developed an eye disease, and he could no longer paint pictures, and only studied these statuettes. Edgar Degas, whose sculptures for a long time were unknown to the world, hid from the public one more of his talent. His last years were dramatic: the creator, who surprised his comrades with impeccable eyesight, died very poorly seeing.

"Blue dancers"

We should separately say about this picture. At first glance at it, it may seem that music is about to start, so bright and radiantly shine pure shades. This picture represents complete freedom and freedom. However, critics and spectators often scoffed at the artist for "cutting off" the image, they said that Degas simply can not harmoniously place the object or person on the canvas, fit into its size.

This picture is written in pastel, as already mentioned above, Edgar Degas loved her, because she allowed to connect the line and the color. Several dancers, as it were, merged into one, the entire canvas is imbued with the idea of a harmonious movement. What is before us: the frozen moment of rehearsal, speeches? Or on the canvas depicts the image of the same girl, but in different angles? Probably, the viewer will not be asked this question, as he will be fascinated by the radiance of the sky color, which in some areas is darker, while on others it is lighter. Overflowing and sparkling skirts, bewitching its brilliance ...

Thanks to this picture, a wide range of people learned who Edgar Degas is. "Blue dancers" brought him fame.

«Figure in motion»

Recently, the Hermitage hosted an exhibition entitled "A figure in motion", at which Degas sculptures were demonstrated. These figurines seemed to come off the paintings. Many of the thirty bronze figures of the Parisian master were made during the period when he created the canvases. The basis of some is based on an absolutely original idea, which has no analogues. For example, the figure "Bath" should be observed from above - nothing like this has ever happened in the history of sculpture.

The master never showed his statuettes, except for the "Little Dancer". Degas dressed her in real cloth, which categorically did not like the critics. After this case, the artist created the figures exclusively for the "soul", and not for exhibitions.

Edgar Degas never made bronze. He made his sculptures of wax, as well as clay. The master liked these materials. He could at will change something, for example, the position of the horse's leg.

In his old age, when Degas was already poorly seen, he did only such figures. After his death, 150 wax statuettes were found in his apartment - almost all of them were similar to his canvases: ballerinas, washable women, horse riders.

Discovered sculptures the artist's relatives made bronze, in the end turned out 74 figures that were given to the best museums.

To all the people who visited this exhibition, such a wonderful creator as Edgar Degas was opened in a new way. "Figure in motion" has become a real sensation for connoisseurs of art.