Ballet Rehearsal - Masterpiece Jigsaw Puzzle
Edgar Degas (French 1834-1917)
Laurel Ink 500 piece puzzles measure 18" x 24".
Retail $12.95

Ballet Rehearsal - Masterpiece Jigsaw Puzzle
Edgar Degas (French 1834-1917) (from back of puzzle box)

Edgar Degas, a French painter and sculptor, is considered on the masters of modern art of the last nineteenth century, and his paintings have always been popular with a broad audience. Although Degas is usually associated with the Impressionists, he is unique in that he cannot be completely categorized into any one the trends of the era. His work differed stylistically from Impressionism in several ways. With his training in drafting, his emphasis was on innovative composition and line rather than the Impressionist interpretation of the effects of light and color. Degas chose to paint theater and ballet performances, horse races and café life rather than landscapes. He never shared the Impressionist interest in plein-air painting, preferring instead artificial or interior light. He studied movement and sought to translate the realism of photography into his painting. While he did not embrace the Impressionist style, he did support and associate with the artists. Beginning with the first Impressionist Exhibition in 1874, he exhibited at seven of the eight Impressionist exhibitions and became a major organizer of the group.

Degas was born into a well-to-do Parisian banking family and knew at an early age that he wanted to become an artist. He entered the Ecole de Beaux Arts at age 21 and studied under a disciple of the famous Classicist, Jean-August-Dominique Ingres. He left a short time later to travel in Italy and study the Florentine masters. It was this influence and his admiration of Ingres that prompted some to consider him a Classicist in the early part of his career.

The ballet provided inspiration for many of his paintings in the 1870's and he often portrayed rehearsal and performance scenes as in Ballet Rehearsal. He caught the action of the moment and often depicted common, unglamorous gestures such as the

Unconcern of a dancer scratching her back. He also use new and original effects in his arrangement in many of these compositions. While they appear casual and unstudied, their oblique views and asymmetr4ical balance were carefully calculated. It is estimated that Degas made approximately 1500 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings of dancers.

After exploring a variety of media throughout his career, when his sight began to fail in the 1880's, Degas began to work increasingly in sculpture and pastel. He would often depict groups of dancers against loosely sketched backgrounds. In his sculpture, as in his paintings, he attempted to catch the action of the moment.

Degas was truly in a category of his own. He was able to paint as a Classicist, and Impressionist, as Realist, and more, but his brilliant combination of them all set him uniquely apart. Due to his solitary nature, Degas was not well known to the public during his life, and his stature was not fully recognized until after his death in 1917.

New: packaged/shrink wrapped 14"x14" boxed.

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