Edgar Degas, in full Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, De Gas later spelled Degas, (born July 19, 1834, Paris, France—died September 27, 1917, Paris), French painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was prominent in the Impressionist group and widely celebrated for his images of Parisian life. Degas’s principal subject was the human—especially the female—figure, which he explored in works ranging from the sombre portraits of his early years to the studies of laundresses, cabaret singers, milliners, and prostitutes of his Impressionist period. Acknowledged as one of the finest draftsmen of his age, Degas experimented with a wide variety of media, including oil, pastel, gouache, etching, lithography, monotype, wax modeling, and photography.
Acknowledged as one of the finest draftsmen of his age, Degas experimented with a wide variety of media, including oil, pastel, gouache, etching, lithography, monotype,. wax modeling, and photography. Whereas the paintings of Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley; Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Camille Pissaro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were largely concerned with the landscape or with figures of rural toil and urban glamour, Degas specialized in startling and enigmatic scenes of Parisian life. Such debates and discoveries continue to attract vast crowds and to stimulate curators, academics, and practicing artists, suggesting that Degas’s full stature has yet to be fully measured.