Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas was born in Paris. He bacame known as the master of drawing the human figure in motion. In the 1880's, Degas started to concentrate on intimate scenes, such as women bathing, shopping, or drying or combing their hair. He especially enjoyed painting pictures of race-track and theatrical life. But he composed his pictures carefully both for formal balance and to indicate the social interaction of his figures. He placed his figures at unusual …

…was the painter Jean Auguste Ingres, whose example pointed him in the direction of a classical draftsmanship, stressing balance and clarity of outline. In 1859, he painted portraits of his family and friends and a number of historical subjects, in which he combined classical and romantic styles. In the late 1860s he turned to contemporary themes, painting both theatrical scenes and portraits with a strong emphasis on the social and intellectual implications of props and setting.