2. Edgar Degas
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas or Edgar Degas (born July 19, 1834, Paris, France – died September 27, 1917, Paris, France) is probably one of the most beloved painters of the epoch. His obsession with all things dance certainly made his paintings easy to relate to and love and Degas used the art form to develop and explore his own. His materials of choice were pastels which, it seems, he felt and understood with his very soul. Degas’ dedication to the medium and his talent in drawing out the most from its material qualities: the way pastels absorb light, the way the medium travels on the paper, its fragility and the way it sits on top of the paper instead of being absorbed into it – made him almost synonymous with the very notions of ballet and pastels.
Edgar Degas, ‘Dancers Practicing at the Barre’, 1877. Oil on canvas. In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
