Degas

Taschen Basic Art

by Bernd Growe

Dancers always remained Degas's favorite theme

"No art could be less spontaneous than mine. Inspiration, spontaneity, temperament are unknown to me. One has to do the same subject ten times, even a hundred times over. In art, nothing should look like chance, not even movement." (Edgar Degas)

In terms of both theme and technique, the key to understanding the early work of Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is classical painting. Although he was eventually associated with the Impressionists and even participated in their joint exhibitions, Degas never adopted a purely Impressionist approach.

Degas's work, reflecting an extremely personal and psychological perspective, emphasizes the scenic or concentrates on the detail. Thus, Degas's painting is often discussed with reference to the rise of short-exposure photography. Thematically, nature proved less interesting to the artist than the life and inhabitants of the modern metropolis. Degas primarily sought his motifs in ballet salons, at the race track or circus, or in bedrooms - but dancers always remained his favorite theme.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Biography, France, History

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Anna P (whatIreallyRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

His whole life long, though, ever since his early notebooks lamented his isolation, his longing to be alone and his weariness of solitude went hand in hand.

This book is a perfect blend of art history and biography:

- the monography examines Degas' works;
- the way his style, technique, and subjects evolved over time;
- the reception of his pieces by the contemporary public, critics and fellow-artists;
- the way his art fit into the context of the Parisian art scene and Impressionists' movement;
- briefly stated biographical facts and background;
- contains some of Degas' quotes and personal reflections on his art and work process.

"Art is the governance of pain by beauty"

What Degas was looking for was motion that had not come to rest.

The edition is awesome. It's all I hoped for in a book such as this:

- plentiful illustrations to match the commentary on Degas' art;
- good quality print, good colors, good paper;
- nicely edited and put together;
- all of the illustrations contain info on the paintings' whereabouts.

Which is good news, since this was my first Taschen Basic Arts read, and I already own several other books in the series. I plan to get to at least a couple more this year (other Taschen Basic Arts books I own).

"The idea of truth is conveyed by falsity."

I appreciated all these talks of composition, light, accents, lines and plains, the construction and inner workings of the painting, the means by which the artist achieves the impression he wants to convey. I've gotten out of the use of looking at paintings that way, and I don't think I would have noticed or thought of any of these, had the author not pointed them out.

I haven't read art monographies since high school or something, so it felt nice, like coming home after a long absence. It also made me (again) painfully aware of the ways my education is lacking - so many names I didn't know, or knew vaguely but couldn't quite place. So I am now voracious to fill these blanks.

I decided to read these non-fiction books about artists meaningfully coupled with some fiction or memoirs, for better immersion and more context. For my Degas read, the tie-in was The Masterpiece by Émile Zola, where the protagonist is also a XIX-century Parisian Impressionist painter (also a 5-star read).

He had requested that only a single statement should be uttered at his grave "He very much loved drawing"

As he grew older he did not forbear to lash himself: "All in all I have had less courage than I hoped"

The last pages of the book about Degas progressing blindness and death made me emotional - an unexpected effect for a study of an artist.

The only disappointment this edition brought me - it did not contain The Blue Dancers pastel drawing which is my favorite.

[Irma Sincera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norėjosi griežtesnės struktūros ir daugiau asmenybės, bet turinys įdomus ir informatyvus.

[Iftekhar Naim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer on Degas' style of art and how his work relates/differs from other impressionist artists of his time. I enjoyed reading about Degas' thorough and calculative style of painting. The book is well written and most of the points were well explained with multiple accompanying paintings. As I went through these beautiful artworks, I was constantly amazed by Degas effort to capture motion and action in a frame. Degas was uncompromising about his philosophy of art and it becomes evident as you go through the book.

[jaana 🧶 · Rating 3 out of 5]

fine but it had typos which was hilarious

[Carla Parreira]

Essa é uma obra que oferece um mergulho profundo na vida e na obra do pintor impressionista francês Edgar Degas. Apesar de ser um livro curto, a riqueza de seu conteúdo é notável, apresentando uma análise detalhada das principais obras do artista, seu estilo, suas fases e suas influências. O livro inicia contextualizando Degas no movimento impressionista, que nasceu na França no final do século XIX. Growy explica que, embora Degas não seja tão conhecido quanto nomes como Monet, Manet ou Van Gogh, sua contribuição para a arte impressionista é significativa.

Degas nasceu em uma família abastada e, por isso, tinha mais liberdade para explorar sua arte sem a pressão financeira que muitos outros artistas enfrentaram. A biografia de Degas também é explorada, destacando sua preferência por retratar cenas do cotidiano parisiense, especialmente cafés, bailarinas e pessoas comuns. Growy evidencia que, ao contrário de outros impressionistas que focavam em paisagens ou cenas rurais, Degas tinha um olhar mais atento às atividades urbanas e às pessoas que frequentavam esses ambientes.

O livro destaca as características marcantes do estilo de Degas. Sua técnica impressionista é evidente na utilização de cores vivas e na captura da luz e sombra de forma realista, mesmo dentro do estilo mais solto e espontâneo do movimento. Growy ressalta a perfeição técnica de Degas, especialmente na representação de figuras humanas, como bailarinas e acrobatas, onde a anatomia e os detalhes são retratados com precisão impressionante, mantendo a estética impressionista.

Degas também se destacou por sua versatilidade. Além da pintura, experimentou escultura, especialmente no final de sua vida, com obras que exploravam movimento e formas humanas. Uma de suas esculturas mais famosas, The Little 14 Year Old Dancer, é destacada como um exemplo de sua experimentação e talento multidisciplinar.

Nas fases iniciais, suas pinturas ainda carregam traços tradicionais, com influências de outros artistas e uma técnica mais clássica. Com o tempo, seu estilo se torna mais livre, vibrante e vibrante, características do impressionismo. Growy também comenta sobre algumas obras específicas, como cenas de backstage de bailarina, pinturas de cenas de Paris, bailarinas em ensaios, e até cenas de corridas de cavalo, demonstrando a variedade de temas que Degas abordou.

Ele também analisa pinturas mais controversas ou menos conhecidas, incluindo obras com temas históricos ou cenas mais pesadas, como a perturbadora Rape, que traz uma cena de possível estupro — uma obra que provoca reflexão sobre o peso de temas mais sombrios na arte. O livro menciona amizades importantes na vida de Degas, como a relação com Manet, embora tenham tido desentendimentos, como no caso de uma pintura que Manet rasgou por considerá-la ofensiva.

Growy também destaca que Degas tinha um olhar atento às cenas do cotidiano, incluindo suas observações sobre as bailarinas, suas expressões de esforço e dedicação, refletindo sua sensibilidade e seu interesse pela rotina dessas pessoas. O livro é técnico na análise das obras, mas de fácil compreensão para o leitor leigo, mesmo que seja necessário um nível avançado de inglês, pois o material está em inglês. Growy consegue transmitir a essência do artista, sua técnica, seu estilo e sua visão de mundo, fazendo com que o leitor aprecie ainda mais as obras de Degas.

[Tim Nason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - Curmudgeonly, politically conservative, he could draw like a magician.

Degas defied his viewers' expectations by portraying common-place scenes, or horses and jockeys before a race, backstage ballerinas, women washing themselves or ironing or singing or trying on fanciful hats. Not historical scenes, not mythology, nothing heroic, rarely landscapes.

He pioneered compositional innovations, cropping figures halfway off the canvas, filling the immediate foreground with an empty table or chair, or with the backs of peoples' heads, often cramming figures at the sides of pictures leaving the center empty. In one picture astonishing architectural precision is the background for a female acrobat hanging by her teeth from a cable. Views of figures are shown from below or above, or are unflatteringly close. The light in his pictures sometimes fills the entire canvas, other times has spotlight intensity.

He believed whole-heartedly in completing pictures only in the studio, never outdoors, yet working with models or from memory he was able to conjure and capture instances of candid and intense realism.

Some of his paintings look like photo-realism, exactingly documentary, yet his late pastels are fervid with color and texture and motion like an abstract expressionist.

Growe's book is configured in eight sections, each with a focus on a period of the artist's life. It's comprehensive within the limitation of less than 100 pages, with many pages showing large and presumably accurate color reproductions. A brief chronology and even briefer bibliography close the book.

The only element lacking for me is a further explanation of why Degas chose the subjects he did, the quotidian scenes, the young ballerinas scratching themselves and yawning. Why the bold compositions and unusual coloring, why the defiance of viewers' expectations? What motivated such avant-garde brilliance emerging from such an apparently stodgy personality?

Growe does offer that Degas's pictures insistently illustrate his figures' isolation, their physical and apparent emotional distance from one another. Growe states: "Degas's art is a devastating analysis of modern times. The flaneur [Degas as gentleman-about-town], with his expertise in the quotidian, turned out to have observed the alienation of real lives far more acutely than most of the sociologists of the day" (73). Later, Growe concludes, "Of all the artists of his time, Degas was the one who analyzed isolation, alienation, and the abyss of public pleasure" (90).

The upside of this ingenious artist's portrayal of alienation and the "abyss of public pleasure" is that the pictures are so very striking, so colorful, so stunningly beautiful.

[Lauren Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading so many of these books on different Impressionists. Degas, unfortunately, is the one I connect with the least.

Degas as an artist is not my favorite. Maybe it’s the subject matter of his art or his personal style, but I don’t resonate with either. The writing of this little book lacked a lot of story telling and was mostly analysis so I was less interested overall.

Beautiful illustrations and still fun, but not my favorite!

[Andrea G. Morales · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hay amor y hay pintura. Y solo tenemos un corazón"

Casi siempre compro libros de arte para inspiración o para referencia, pero con este uno aprende: biografía, el estilo, técnica y como Degas ca evolucionaron y lo que mas me gusto aparte de las obras de arte es que contiene algunas de las citas y reflexiones personales de Degas.

[Hannah Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's such a cliché but I became totally absorbed by the impressionists as a teenager. I've had my print of 'The Star' in every room I've had since I was 16. I nearly did an art history degree because of it.

So in short: loved this. Short analysis of lots of the key paintings (and ones I literally had no idea existed - I'm a bad fan!) with biographical shenanigans in between.

[Trina Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's love and there's painting. And we only have one heart"

[Doug Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it's just good to pick up a book that is filled with amazing art, where the words matter less. Taschen puts out so many great books like this - Degas' is no exception.

[Jake Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

An artist of ingenuity

[Ясен В. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely look into the life of an interesting author. His views on the intent of a piece have really influenced a lot of photographic movements.

[sierra!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

“he had requested that only a single statement be uttered at his grave: ‘he very much loved drawing.’”

“art is the governance of pain by beauty” —degas

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way to learn the work of an artist

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great basic introduction to an intriguing artist, well-equipped with good quality color reproductions of the paintings, sculptures, and sketches. Reading this book definitely gave me an increased appreciation for why it is that Degas' reputation has survived intact for so many decades following his death.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, concise study of the life and works of Edgar Degas ... a French naturalistic artist more in the mold of Manet than that of the other Impressionists ... abounding in lush color illustrations ... from ballerinas to race-horses to laundresses and further, he is ever the artist of contemporary French life ... part of the Taschen Basic Art Series ...

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved learning about edgars pieces , techniques and unique style. I had a hard time picking my favourite piece of his as they are all beautiful imagery of ballerina's in there best. The vibrant colours of lightening so amazing wiht the medias he uses.

[Bungle Boo Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fave artist! I will always love anything written about him! A nice introduction to his life and his art!

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

2013 Edition

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

"He very much loved drawing"