• Home
    • Who's Who
    • About >
      • History
  • Contact Us
  • C2C Blog
  • Donate
MONKEYHOUSE

C2C Blog

Happy Birthday, Edgar Degas!

7/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
A few years ago our then intern David Makransky wrote a short article about Edgar Degas in celebration of his birthday.  We wanted to move the article over to our new blog in celebration today!

Happy Birthday to Edgas Degas
by David Makranasky

Edgar Degas was a French painter and sculptor, largely credited as a founder of the Impressionism movement of the mid-1800s. Though his work bore many of the characteristics of Impressionistic art, Degas preferred to refer to his style as Realism, and often degraded the art of other Impressionistic painters of the time.  He specialized in painting contemporary life from the point of view of the laborer, and often chose unusual croppings or viewpoints for his work. Hat-makers and laundresses were common subjects, allowing him to present psychological paintings of working women who were otherwise unnoticed by those around them.

A particular focus of Degas' was dance and ballet, but he never strayed from his psychological, working-man style. The vast majority of Degas' paintings of dancers depict rehearsals and preparations for rehearsals, emphasizing their roles as professionals in a job. His juxtaposition of art and work closely paralleled his own situation as a working painter, a connection often highlighted by art historians. Yet Degas was clearly excited by the beauty of dance, even as he portrayed dancers as workers in a profession. He spent large expanses of time at the Paris Opera and Ballet, attempting to capture their classical beauty on the canvas. The ballet presented him with the opportunity to depict fluidity and suppleness of motion just as art was adjusting to the modern technologies of electricity and photography, guaranteeing that painting would continue as an appreciated art form in the modern era. The pale beauty of the ballerinas also allowed Degas to work in pastel, a style he returned to life in France. Many of his works featuring dancers, including "Danseuse Assise" and "L'etoile" can be found on display in art museums in Paris, St. Petersburg, and across America. 

0 Comments
    Created with Tagul.com

    Categories

    All
    [82]
    Acro
    Adelphi University
    Advice
    Aisha Cruse
    Alexander Davis
    Alexandra Nunweiler
    Alive Dance Collective
    Amy Foley
    April
    Artweek Boston
    August
    B-A-R Dance
    Bharatanatyam
    Birthdays
    Books
    Boston Community Dance Project
    Boston Dance
    Boxing
    Brenna Banister
    Bridges Dance Theatre
    Broadway
    Caitlin Canty
    Caleb Howe
    Cayley Dorr
    ChoreoFest
    Choreographer
    Choreography
    Choreography Mentorship
    Christopher Croucher
    Clayton Raithel
    Cnc Little Library
    Collaboration
    Collective Moments
    Colleen Walsh
    Community
    Connections Dance Theater
    Connexa
    CoolNY
    Dance Complex
    Dance Film
    Daniel Foner
    David Makransky
    David Parker
    Deepa Srinath
    Derick K. Grant
    Design
    Dictionary Of Negative Space
    DrumatiX
    Elizabeth Powers
    Elyssa Berg
    Emma Morris
    Empower One Another
    Endicott College
    Erica Nelson
    Erin McNulty
    Erin Saunders
    Eva Yaa Asantewaa
    Events
    Evolve Dynamicz
    Felipe Galganni
    Firk II
    Fleur D'Orange
    #geochoreography
    #getcaughtreading
    Gracie Baruzzi
    Gracie Novikoff
    Grant Jacoby
    Green Street Studios
    Guest Artists
    Hannah Ranco
    Heather Brown
    Hip Hop
    Holiday
    #IfNotYouWho
    Illumination
    Impact Dance Company
    Improvisation
    Impulse Dance Center
    Interns
    Interview
    Jackie Bowden
    Jason Ries
    Jennifer Binversie
    Jennifer Crowell Kuhnberg
    Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg
    Jenny Oliver
    Jessica Prince
    Jessica Roseman
    Jordan Rosin
    Josh Bergasse
    July
    June
    Kaleidoscope Dance
    Karen Krolak
    Kaylee Mayan
    Kelley Donovan
    Kelsey Griffith
    Kelsey Saulnier
    Kim Holman
    Kinetic Synergy Dance Company
    Kristin Wagner
    Lacey Sasso
    Laura Neese
    Lisa Giancola
    Lisa La Touche
    Luminarium Dance
    Lynn Modell
    Malden Dance
    Margaret Wiss
    May
    Mentoring
    Mentors
    Michela Doherty
    Michelle Boilard
    Musing
    NACHMO
    NACHMO Boston
    Natalie Schiera
    Nick Daniels
    Nicole Harris
    Nicole Laliberte
    Nicole Zizzi
    November
    Nozama Dance
    NSquared Dance
    Olivia Scharff
    OnStage Dance Company
    OnStage Summer Performance Series
    Paradise Moves
    Portuguese
    Program
    Que Unlimited
    Rachel Roccoberton
    ReAct ReBuild ReCollect
    Repost
    Ricochet
    Roger Williams University
    Ruth Benson Levin
    Sam Mullen
    Sarah Craver
    Sarah Feinberg
    Sarah Friswell Cotton
    Sarah Grace
    Skooj
    Soufiane Karim
    Tap Dance
    ...that's What She Said
    The Dance Complex
    The End Ensemble
    The Ume Group
    Translation
    Turning Key Dance Company
    Tyler Catanella
    Uplift
    Virginia Commonwealth University
    Voetstoots

    Missed an older post?  Find it here!

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
    • Who's Who
    • About >
      • History
  • Contact Us
  • C2C Blog
  • Donate