The classic of impressionism Edgar Degas received a classical education and was initially engaged under the guidance of Ingres, a master of realism. But, in 1862, Degas met with Renoir and Monet, at that time already famous impressionists. And Degas radically changed the direction in his work. Unlike Monet and Renoir, who were adherents of working in the open air, Edgar Degas painted from memory and did not like to write in the fresh air. In 1870, Degas began to use pastel in his works, and called himself a master of colored lines. Edgar Degas was a master not only of lines, but also of movement.
The most favorite topic in the works of Degas were women. Ballerinas, dancers, cooks, noble ladies, simple and rich, dressed and naked. He admired them, and portrayed them at some particular moment of movement or action. There is something photographic in these magnificent works.
famous paintings by Edgar Degas:
1
Ironers (1884–1886)
The figure of the ironer, yawning from her monotonous, tiring work, became a symbol of a 19th-century worker. The woman decided to take a break and drink some wine. Her posture and her whole appearance speaks of how her back aches, her hands hurt. Next to her, the second ironer continues to iron the fabric with a heavy cast iron. Her fatigue can be seen in a tense pose, when she, with her head bowed, tries with all her strength to push the iron with both hands. This is Paris, which is hidden behind the bright windows and signs of rich shops and hotels. The daily grave hopelessness of the workers makes their lives unbearable.
Degas worked out a new technique when coarse canvas and rough strokes create a pastel effect in the picture. The humanism of the picture lies precisely in this rigid painting. The viewer becomes unbearably sorry for these toilers. And if so, then Degas was able to shift a huge block of the problems of female labor in Europe in the XIX century.
2
Blue Dancers (1898)
A small square sheet of paper turned into a real masterpiece under the skillful hand of Degas. The magic, charm of this picture is undeniable. Grace of ballerinas, exquisite blue color makes the work recognizable and extremely aesthetic.
Ballerinas and ballet were for Degas one of their favorite topics. He painted girls in a variety of poses, angles, as if he was snatching a small fragment of the movements of ballerinas from a time tape. This picture is most likely similar to modern photography. She has an unusual angle - a top view. The viewer sees only the graceful necks, shoulders and waist of the dancers. Each ballerina is busy with her own business: one corrects the strap of the dress, the other checks how the dance costume sits on her beautiful shoulders, the third tries to look over her legs over her shoulder, and the fourth one sees only the back of the head and part of the back - it’s clear that the ballerina has bent to tie a bow on pointe shoes.
3
Ballerina and a woman with an umbrella (Waiting), 1882
This is another pastel of Edgar Degas on the theme of ballet. There are only two characters in the picture - a young ballerina and a lady in a strict black dress with an umbrella. Women are sitting on a bench against the wall. A young dancer checks pointe shoes, and a woman in black, obviously, her mother. Her pose is tense, she expects her daughter to exit, the result of her dance. Will they take her to ballet or not?
4
Star (1876-1877)
Degas loved ballet, it is evident with what love and trepidation he portrayed his ballerinas. The magical world of the theater attracted the Artist from all sides - from the side of the stage, side of the wings, ballet classes. He was interested in the whole process of preparing for ballet. It was the pastel that was able to elevate the Degas ballerinas to the level of celestials. Refined soft tones, tenderness, airiness and transparency make his work excellent. The central figure of the picture is a ballerina who soars in the air, touching the stage with the tip of her pointe shoes. It is snow-white, all glows from the inside.
In the background, scenery and backstage. Because of the scenery, the figure of a respectable person, a philanthropist, whose role in prima life is ambiguous, is visible. This figure returns the viewer from the magical land of elves to the harsh earthly life.
5
Hairstyle Woman (1885)
This painting, according to the editors of most-beauty, is one of the artist’s best works. A young naked woman sits cross-legged with her back to the viewer, combing luxurious hair. Beautiful pure color, delicate lines, delicate pastel touches make the woman’s figure captivating and very natural.
6
Absinthe (1893)
A rather interesting story unfolds before the viewer. A strange couple sits at a table in a cafe - a sober man with a pipe and a drunk woman. In front of her is a glass of absinthe. The woman’s pose is relaxed, she unceremoniously extended her legs forward, lowered her shoulders. Her eyelids are heavy and slightly cover her eyes. She is drunk and completely indifferent to the world around her. The man, apparently, is not a lady's companion. He looks out the window with a blank look.
The picture shows the morning, as evidenced by the morning newspaper in the hands of the master, with whose eyes we observe this scene. The lady and the man apparently had a stormy night.
The effect of absinthe has a certain effect on a person. Fairly drunk people become indifferent to everything in the world, alienated. Degas looks at this couple with a sober look and emphasizes the harmfulness of this habit. But addiction to absinthe was the scourge of the XIX century.
7
Miss La La at the Fernando Circus (1879)
The famous circus acrobat is depicted by the artist from an incredible angle. The figure is shifted to the upper left corner, drawn from the bottom up, which makes the composition very unusual. The viewer, as if in reality, is watching the work of an aerial gymnast. The figure is painted so masterfully that it gives the impression of being present at the circus performance.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about the most beautiful gymnasts.
8
At the milliner (1882)
Degas always considered himself realistic, although he painted in a manner of impressionism. The realism of his work is so great precisely due to the image of real moments from the life of Parisians. Once he walked past the windows of ladies' hat shops and could not take his eyes off what was happening behind the window. As a result of such observations, a whole cycle of "At the milliner" appeared.
One of the first paintings depicts two ladies - customers, one of whom is trying on a hat. In his work, Degas uses a diagonal composition, in the foreground accessories are depicted - all kinds of hats. But they do not take away the attention of the viewer, it is attracted by enthusiastic ladies who seemed to be taken by surprise at trying on fashionable hats.
9
Laundresses carry linen to the city (1878)
The yellow-brown gamut of the picture reflects not only the severity of female labor, but also the hopeless grayness of their everyday life. The picture depicts two laundresses, which diverge according to customers in different directions. Baskets with clean linen are so heavy that women have to bend over. The faces of the laundresses are tanned by constant exposure to the sun. These women are not like prim ladies. They do their hard work day after day for a modest income, which will not allow them to buy a new dress or a fashionable hat.
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Afterword
Edgar Degas is a great impressionist artist who was famous for his pastel technique. He elevated it to such a high level that it remained virtually unattainable. With his skill, pastels began to be taken seriously, like oil painting. Most-beauty.ru expects you to comment on the paintings of this artist. Which of his works do you like the most?
And below we post some more famous Degas paintings that are not on our main list:
Rehearsal (1874)
Portrait of the Bellelli family (1858–1867)
Cotton Office (1873)
Dance class at the Opera (1872)
Dancer in green (1877–1879)
Belly Dancers (1889)
Ladies' Store (1879)
Exercises of young Spartans (1860)
Ballet rehearsal on stage (1874)
Musicians in the orchestra (1872)
Dancers in Pink (1885)
Dancers at the bench (1905)
Orchestra of the Opera (1870)
Place de la Concorde (1875)
Dancer with a bouquet (1877)
Dancers train at the bench (1877)
That's all for now! These, of course, are not all the most famous paintings by Edgar Degas. There are a lot of them! Thanks for your attention.