Edgar Degas

Biography

Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was a French artist famous for his pastels and oil paintings, who also made wax sculptures, prints and drawings. He is particularly identified with dance – more than half his works depict dancers – and also painted racehorses, jockeys, bathers and psychologically complex portraits. Although regarded as a founder of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist, and did not paint outdoors. Trained as a history painter, he turned in his thirties to contemporary subjects, becoming a classical painter of modern life.