Why did one of the founders of Impressionism not like being called an Impressionist?
French artist Edgar Degas is was one of the founders of the Impressionism movement. Degas was born in Paris in 1834. Many of his paintings are observations of contemporary life in Paris in the late 19th century - he is today perhaps best known for his depictions of dancers.
What was Edgar Degas' art training?
Edgar Degas began painting from a young age. By the age of 18, he had turned a room in his house into a studio.
He met and revered fellow artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, who gave him this advice: 'Draw lines, young man, and still more lines, both from life and from memory, and you will become a good artist.'
Degas practised and perfected his techniques at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1856, he moved to Italy for three years to learn from the great works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian and other Renaissance artists. Later on, in 1872, he also spent a year or so in New Orleans staying with an uncle and painting pictures of family members.
Degas enrolled in the National Guard in 1870 and defended Paris in the Franco-Prussian war. During his time in the force, he discovered problems with his eyesight - something that worried him throughout the rest of his life.
Why did Degas not like being called an Impressionist?
Despite being one of the founders of Impressionism and taking a leading role in organising the first Impressionist exhibitions between 1876 and 1884, Degas disliked the term, preferring to think of himself as a realist.
Unlike many other Impressionist painters, Degas did not paint many landscapes and he did not often paint outdoors. His colours were generally more muted when compared, for example, to those of Claude Monet.
He was known to often mock the Impressionist painters, which caused conflicts within the group. He also was more conservative and did not like the furore caused by this new style of painting and their exhibitions.
What other art forms did Edgar Degas do?
In the late 1880s, Degas took up photography. He took photos of friends as well as of dance lessons and nudes, which were used as reference for his paintings.
During his life, Degas only exhibited one sculpture. In 1861, he showed the sculpture called 'The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years'. None of his other sculptures were exhibited until after his death when 150 wax sculptures were discovered in his studio.
