Edgar Degas

Art Smart - 3rd Grade

Figures in Motion

Degas’s LifeDegas’s LifeHilaire-Germaine-Edgar Degas (DAY-GAH) was born in 1834, in Paris, France and lived until 1917

He studied art at the famous art school - École des Beaux-Arts, and often visited the Louvre museum to study and copy the art of the old masters

Degas’s StyleDegas’s StyleDegas shared the Impressionists’ interest in the effects of light and movement, as well as in subjects drawn from daily life

He is most famous for his subjects of ballet dancers, horses, and women bathing

He mastered a variety of media, including oil, pastel, printmaking, sculpture, and photography

The idea, or impression, of a subject

Captured like a photograph

Not always realistic May not be centered

ImpressionismImpressionism

The Dance Class 1874The Dance Class 1874One of Degas's most famous paintings

24 women (ballerinas and their mothers) wait while a dancer executes an "attitude" for her test

Jules Perrot, one of the best known ballet teachers in Europe, conducts the class

The painting was finished after two years of work

Ballet School 1873Ballet School 1873

Art ProjectArt Project Small paper – Using pencil, draw your

neighbor Capture the impression of the body in motion

Etching paper – Using scratching tool, copy your drawing from paper Remember:

The figure should take up most of the paper The figure should be in motion (stretching,

leaning, etc.)