Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Hilaire Germain Edgar De Gas (better known as "Degas") was born July 19, 1834 in Paris. He received a classical education and then started law school. Because he was spending more time making prints and less studying law, he transferred to L'École des Beaux-Arts, where he perfected his drawing abilities and then began painting.

He was strongly influenced by English painters of the time, as well as ukiye-o, the brightly colored woodprints from Japan. He loved opera, theatre, and especially ballet. He was friends with many well-known artists of the time including Manet, and the English artist James Whistler. He traveled to England and even to America to visit relatives in Louisiana. He was responsible for organizing the first formal Impressionist exhibit in Paris in 1874. However, unlike other Impressionists, Degas was less concerned with light and more with showing people in his pictures in natural poses. He described himself as a "colorist with line."

In addition to ballet, he loved racetracks, jockeys, and horses, and did over 300 different pieces of art on the subject (including 17 sculptures). Even though these were pastimes for the wealthy, Degas also liked to paint working-class people, especially laundry women and hat-makers.

His sight began to fail but he did not stop working; instead, he switched to sculpture and pastels, which he liked because he could work quickly and add layers of color easily. "It's one thing to copy what one sees," he said, "but it's much better to draw what can only be seen in one's memory." Throughout his career, he continued studying and trying new art forms until finally in 1912 he had to stop working. He died on September 27, 1917 in Paris.