10 Remarkable Facts about Edgar Degas

Introduction

Edgar Degas was a French painter and sculptor who became famous for his works depicting modern life. He was born in Paris, France and was the eldest of five children. Degas had a strict bourgeois upbringing that included five or six hours of daily formal lessons, as was customary for young boys at the time. His family wanted him to study law, but Degas resisted and entered the École des Beaux-Arts instead. He also took private art classes with Louis Lamothe (1822-1882).

1 He was born in Paris, France and was the eldest of five children.

Edgar Degas was born in Paris on 19th July 1834. He was the eldest of five children and grew up in a family that was both wealthy and arts-oriented. His father was a banker for the Bank of France, while his mother was a dancer.

He began drawing as early as age six, when he would copy prints from the Louvre's collection at home with his older sister Léonie (who also became an artist).

2 He grew up under the constant care of his mother due to his weak health.

Degas was born in Paris in 1834, to parents who were both dancers. His mother, Marthe Faucher, was a ballet dancer and his father worked as a chorus master at the Comédie-Française. It is believed that Degas’ mother was very strict when it came to her son's education and upbringing, even though she did not have much experience raising children herself. She would often find ways to keep him from going out with friends or participating in activities that could be potentially dangerous for someone of his frail health.

Degas also created many pieces of art during his lifetime but his style became well known for being realistic yet understated as well as having an emphasis on movement within painting and sculpture. This is why some people consider him one of the greatest artists ever because he managed so well at creating something so beautiful out of such little resources available during those times!

3 Degas had a strict bourgeois upbringing that included five or six hours of daily formal lessons, as was customary for young boys at the time.

Degas was a disciplined and studious young man. He trained in the traditional French academic style, which emphasized strict rules on composition, color theory and drawing from life. As part of this training, Degas went to studio classes four times per week for five or six hours each time—a rigorous schedule that required him to stay up late at night studying and practicing each day's lessons.

Degas's training as both a painter and sculptor was intended to help him become a portrait painter; however he would later discover his passion for the subject matter of ballet dancers and horses which became his main focus throughout his career.

4 His family wanted him to study law, but Degas resisted and entered the École des Beaux-Arts instead. He also took private art classes.

• You may think that Degas was always a rebellious child. He wasn't. In fact, he grew up with a lot of pressure from his parents to pursue a career in law. But this is where the story gets interesting:

• His family wanted him to study law, but Degas resisted and entered the École des Beaux-Arts instead. He also took private art classes and showed an interest in sculpture at a young age—but he still went against his family's wishes and decided on pursuing an artistic career instead of one related to law like they wanted him too!

5 He often drew and painted scenes of Parisian life, including working-class people, cafés, ballet dancers and horse races.

Edgar Degas was a realist painter who often focused on scenes of Parisian life. He painted images of working-class people, cafés, ballet dancers and horse races. His work was not about the lives of rich and famous people. If you look at his paintings, you can see that he often focused on everyday tasks like washing laundry and sweeping floors.

The subjects in many of Edgar Degas’s paintings were ordinary people doing ordinary things like going to school or cooking dinner at home with their families. This is because he wanted us to see them as part of our world too! These paintings help us understand how different our lives are from those who live in another country or city across town from where we do now - maybe even across town here in New York City!

6 Degas often painted from photographs, sometimes combining several different photographs into a painting.

6 Degas often painted from photographs, sometimes combining several different photographs into a painting. This was common practice at the time; photographs were a cheap and easy way to get a reference for a painting. But Degas used them in his own way, using them not just as references but also as inspiration and ideas for paintings that were realistic and accurate.

7 Degas’ first paintings depicted family members at their country estate in Italy.

Degas' first paintings depicted family members at their country estate in Italy.

Degas’ first paintings were of his own family, painted when he was in his early twenties and living with them at their country estate outside Rome. His parents had purchased the property for their son and daughter-in-law after they married, so that they could have a place to live together before setting up housekeeping for themselves.

8 Later he focused on depicting scenes related to modern life in France.

The next phase of Degas's career began around 1874. His works became more colorful and brighter, which was probably due to his increasing interest in ballet dancers. He also often portrayed scenes related to modern life in France, such as people on the streets, in cafés and other public places.

He painted numerous paintings of ballet dancers at the Paris Opera House (the Palais Garnier). Some art historians believe that Degas was fascinated by their gracefulness and movement because they reminded him of horses—something he loved very much!

9 His pastel drawings became more famous than his oil paintings during his lifetime.

In the late 19th century, pastel drawings were still a relatively new medium and they were much more popular in France than oil paintings. For example, Degas sold over 6,000 pastel drawings during his lifetime while only selling 60 oil paintings!

Pastels are more fragile than oil paintings and so they don't travel well across long distances. This makes them easier to sell in person at art exhibitions or through mail order catalogs that aren't as convenient for transporting bulky (and expensive) oil paintings.

Oil paints are more durable than pastels so if you're looking for something that will last longer than just a couple of years before it starts to fade away from exposure to light or heat or humidity then an oil painting might be better suited for your needs than a pastel drawing would be.

10 Throughout his life, Degas suffered from progressively deteriorating eyesight which forced him to begin drawing and painting with thicker lines and heavier brushstrokes.

Degas' most significant contribution to Impressionism can be seen in his bold brushstrokes and thick outlines. During the late 1850s and early 1860s, Degas began to develop advanced methods of drawing that would become a trademark of his style. He used large amounts of white paint to highlight sections he wanted viewers to notice, rather than using light colors; this made him one of the first painters to use white as an integral part of a composition. His use of color became more subdued as his eyesight deteriorated; by 1897 he had given up painting in oils altogether due to lack of sight and was working primarily in pastels (as seen in Laundry Woman).

Learning more about artists' lives can make you more enthusiastic about their work!

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Conclusion

The best way to learn more about artists is to read their biography or watch documentaries on them. It's interesting how they lived and what they did in their daily lives. You can also see the influence their backgrounds had on their art by looking at their early works.