Degas’ Stylistic Development in Representation of Female Subjects
Degas’ stylistic development in representation of female subjects
More than three quarters of Degas’ works, including his paintings, drawings, pastels, prints and sculptures, comprise of images of women. Degas, similarly to a scientific researcher, investigated the female form through a plethora of representations, ranging from his early and rather reserved portraits of relatives to the laundresses and cabaret singers of his Impressionist years. Moreover, he was even dubbed to have been obsessed by the pursuit of the female image the causes for which were traced back to his childhood years when he lost his mother at the age of 14 and to his later years when he showed an ambivalent attitude towards marriage and had a reputation for misogyny. Edgar-Hilaire-Germain De Gas, determined to pursue his talent in art rather than continuing the family business and becoming a banker, was enrolled in the studio of Louis Lamothe, a former pupil of Ingres. Thus, he was greatly influenced by the Ingristes; however, a great contribution to his stylistic development could be assigned to his regular visits to the Louvre where he was copying works of the great Italian masters and was poring over artists such as Mantegna, Duerer and Rembrandt. The success of his works was mainly due to the fact that he was learning from the great masters without imitating them. He was following their principles and in the same time trying to produce something completely different. Moreover, Degas spent a great part of his early artistic years in Italy where he grew to be a sensitive, highly impressionable, and intelligent young man, as can be inferred from the entries in his diary. The simplicity of the line in his works was to be learned from the early quattrocento, the dignity of form and his excellence of modeling from Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto. Degas’ colors were never flamboyant, but rather subdued and never overexpressed as neither of the other elements of his works. Initially
More than three quarters of Degas’ works, including his paintings, drawings, pastels, prints and sculptures, comprise of images of women. Degas, similarly to a scientific researcher, investigated the female form through a plethora of representations, ranging from his early and rather reserved portraits of relatives to the laundresses and cabaret singers of his Impressionist years. Moreover, he was even dubbed to have been obsessed by the pursuit of the female image the causes for which were traced back to his childhood years when he lost his mother at the age of 14 and to his later years when he showed an ambivalent attitude towards marriage and had a reputation for misogyny. Edgar-Hilaire-Germain De Gas, determined to pursue his talent in art rather than continuing the family business and becoming a banker, was enrolled in the studio of Louis Lamothe, a former pupil of Ingres. Thus, he was greatly influenced by the Ingristes; however, a great contribution to his stylistic development could be assigned to his regular visits to the Louvre where he was copying works of the great Italian masters and was poring over artists such as Mantegna, Duerer and Rembrandt. The success of his works was mainly due to the fact that he was learning from the great masters without imitating them. He was following their principles and in the same time trying to produce something completely different. Moreover, Degas spent a great part of his early artistic years in Italy where he grew to be a sensitive, highly impressionable, and intelligent young man, as can be inferred from the entries in his diary. The simplicity of the line in his works was to be learned from the early quattrocento, the dignity of form and his excellence of modeling from Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto. Degas’ colors were never flamboyant, but rather subdued and never overexpressed as neither of the other elements of his works. Initially
References: Copplestone, T. 1998. Edgar Degas. Gramercy, New York. Gruitrooy, G. 1994. Degas: Impressions of a Great Master. Todtri, New York. Kendall, R. and Pollock, G. 1992. Dealing with Degas: Representations of Women and the Politics of Vision. Pandora Press, London. Rich, D. C. 1989. Edgar-Hilaire-Germain Degas. Thames and Hudson Ltd., London.