Edgar Degas - Artist Biography

One of the most successful and well-known Impressionists, Edgar Degas was born in Paris in 1834. The son of a wealthy banker, Degas was able to find a place to study at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. After finishing his training, he moved to Italy and stayed for five years, studying and learning to imitate the style of the great Renaissance masters.

Degas: the Perfectionist Impressionist
Degas was known to be a perfectionist, and his years spent learning the style of the Renaissance painters was fueled by this character trait. His hard work paid off, and upon his return to France in 1859 he began exhibiting his works at the Salon in Paris. In 1874, he would begin exhibiting his work with the Impressionists, and would continue doing so for a dozen years.

Despite his status as one of the Impressionist masters, Degas was very different from his peers. For one, he eschewed the nature settings preferred by many of the other Impressionists in favor of subjects relating to entertainment and everyday life. While Monet rarely painted people or animals, Degas was fond of depicting horses, women and even dancers in the midst of a routine.

Another unique characteristic of Degas' style was the fact that he liked to work in a studio. After sketching his subjects in the field, he would return to the studio and apply his meticulous style to fleshing the sketches out. If you're looking for some beautiful Edgar Degas prints, you'll find quite a few among our collection at PosterCheckOut.