A Revered Artist, Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas

723 Words2 Pages

Edgar-Germain-Hilaire Degas, a revered artist of time, created many pieces of art in his lifetime. His life journey began when he was born on July 19, 1834, in Paris France. He was born to Célestine Musson de Gas and Auguste de Gas. His father was a banker by trade, very supporting in his quest to become an artist, and his mother came from a fairly wealthy French family. He was the eldest of five children, his siblings being Achille, Thérese, Marguerite, and René. He began schooling at the age of eleven in the Lycée Louis-le-Grand where he studied many different subjects. His father saw his love for art and his growing artistic ability and motivated him by taking Degas to many Paris museums. Sadly, his mother passed away when he was just thirteen. In 1853, Edgar Degas graduated from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand with a baccalauréat in literature.
His father believed that becoming an artist wasn't a good profession and wanted his son to become a lawyer. So Degas studied law briefly and then decided he wished to become an artist. Then, at the age of eighteen, he turned a room in his house into a studio, and was registered at the Louvre as a copyist, a person who copies paintings for studios reasons. In 1855, Degas was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There he studied under Louis Lamothe, a former student of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, one of his favorite artists whom he had met in the Louvre. Under his guidance, his artistic ability thrived. He traveled to Italy in 1856 on a three year trip to visit his aunt, where he studied and copied painting of many artists of the Renaissance such as, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. In 1859, he moved back to Paris to buy a studio. He continued to be a copyist f...

... middle of paper ...

...s Renoir, but eventually had to leave Edgar Degas due to his personality and beliefs. It is believed that nearer to the end of his life, his vision declined and by 1907, was forced to continue painting in just pastels and taking photographs. His vision worsened and by 1910, could only continue creating sculptures. It is finally believed that Edgar Degas had to stop all kinds of artwork in 1912 due to his poor eyesight, and because he was forced out of his house because the building was being torn down. He spent the remainder of his life, almost completely blind, anxiously roaming the Paris streets, until he died on September 17, 1917. Edgar Degas was a great artist of his time, and created many artwork pieces that live on, years after he had died. Edgar Degas never married and died a lonely man at the age of eighty-three, outliving most of his closest friends.

More about A Revered Artist, Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas

Open Document