Master-a-Month: Degas

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Edgar DEGAS
(1834-1917)

During the final quarter of the nineteenth century, a group of French artists banded together to exhibit their work and to reinforce their ideas about what they thought art should and should not be. Rather than simply painting someone else's preconceived notion of the world around them, these Impressionists sought to capture their personal "impressions" of a given moment. Among these painters was the son of a banker by the name of Edgar Degas.

Even though he supported their cause and exhibited with them, Degas disapproved of being labeled an "Impressionist." At first glance, his paintings seem to fit right in with the quickly executed work of his colleagues, but as the most classically trained of his group, Degas was well-grounded in the methods of "croquis, esquisse, ébauche." He first made preparatory sketches of the idea, then he created a final sketch before completely painting his intentions in monochrome on the canvas. This last step not only ensured that the composition was thought out, but that his system of values (lighting and shading) was established before he ever put color to the painting.

Another major difference between Degas and most of the group was in his use of lines. By and large the Impressionists were interested in the way light could destroy three-dimensional forms, breaking them up into flat shapes and splitting single hues into many different colors; consequently, they were not overly concerned with precision in drawing. Degas on the other hand was a wonderful draftsman who greatly admired the work of Jean Ingres. When he eventually met the great master, Ingres quipped that famous piece of advice, "Draw lines, young man, plenty of lines." And Degas did, marrying the precision of carefully drawn and modeled objects with seemingly spontaneous explosions of painterly color. Unfortunately, failing eyesight left him virtually blind and unable to work the last 17 years of his life.

Degas from Artchives
Degas from the Artcyclopedia
Galerie Degas

A FEW WELL-KNOWN WORKS BY DEGAS &
SOME STORIES ABOUT THEM

• • • Most of the images whose links appear below can be enlarged by clicking on the image.


The Absinthe Drinkers

Absinthe is a potent green liqueur (60-70% alcohol) made from distilled wine and seasoned with herbs, in particular wormwood, an hallucinagen containing a chemical similar in nature to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

After the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71), returning soldiers distributed absinthe throughout the french-speaking world. Paris adopted it as the aperitif of choice, and Parisien society instituted the infamous "l'heure verte" (the green hour) when people of all classes would congregate at their favorite absinthe cafe. Creative types, most notably actors, artists and writers, extolled the mind-expanding properties of the drink.

When Degas exhibited the painting, The Absinthe Drinkers, it caused public outrage, probably because the figures were not posed models depicting a hypothetical situation, but well-known celebrities participating in private behaviour. The woman was actress Ellen André; the man, bohemian artist Marcellin Désboutin; the place, the Café la Nouvelle-Athènes, a favorite spot of Degas and his comrades.

* * *

Manet listening to his wife play the piano

One of the great artistic influences on Degas was his friend and mentor, Edouard Manet. But there are times that even the best friendships go awry. Degas created a portrait of Manet and his wife which precipitated just such an event. Manet was so displeased with the portrayal of his spouse, that he cut off the entire right side of the painting which contained her face. To make matters worse, he made no attempt to hide his grave insult from his friend. When Degas found out what his Manet had done, he confiscated the painting. It hangs today, still mutilated, on the walls of the Municipal Museum of Art in Kitakyushu, Japan, a testament to one of the more famous spats in the history of art.

* * *

The Suffering of the City of New Orleans

 During the American Civil War, the south courted the sympathies of France, England and other European countries. When Lincoln proclaimed that his sole intention of the war was to preserve the union, Europe largely supported the seceding states, if not on the principle of slavery, then on the potential benefits of a defeated north: tarif-free cotton to European manufacturers and a weakening of Yankee competition in the shipping trades.

Degas had a more personal reason for supporting the south: his Creole mother's family lived in New Orleans. In about 1865 he painted a picture, which at first glance was a medieval post-battle scene: men on horses mistreating women as spoils of war. In reality, the painting was a statement about the abuse of women in New Orleans by Union Troops. Why Degas used a medieval theme instead of a more contemporary one is a subject for debate. Perhaps by distancing himself from the atrocities he was trying to lessen some personal pain he felt. Perhaps he wanted to make a more timeless condemnation of the practice of raping and killing conquered women. It is interesting to note that during his lifetime, he was known as being very opinionated, and seldom dodged controversy. The reasons he would do so for this particular painting are intriguing if not somewhat puzzling.

Information about Degas' time

  • HISTORICAL EVENTS:

    1815 - Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
    1834-1917 Degas
    1844 - U.S. treaty with China opens ports
    1848 - Communist Manifesto published
    1859 - Darwin publishes orgin of the species
    1861 - 1865 U.S. Civil War
    1914 - 1918 First World War

  • The Art Historian's Guide to the Movies
    THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

  • The Artist's View of World History and Western Civilization
     THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND INDUSTRY : The Age of Industry
    • (comprehensive links pages for all of the arts and history)

A SAMPLING OF
PAINTERS WHO INFLUENCED DEGAS:

A TASTE OF GREAT NINETEENTH CENTURY
ROMANTIC MUSIC :

Music History 102: The Romantic Period (with RealPlayer sound files)
Library of music by the Romantic masters (midi files)

 

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