Degas and the Dance: The Painter and the Petits Rats, Perfecting their Art

Edgar Degas loved painting dancing girls. He was living in France and painted from 1855 to 1905. He studied the girls practicing at the studio and also at Operas. He was very different from the impressionist, artists who liked painting outdoors. He liked studying the girls, watching them and

gossiping with them. He did not paint the girls as they were. Sometimes, he added bows, ribbons, and sashes to the paintings to add color. As time passed, his eyes were getting weaker but Degas could not give up painting. He continued painting and later worked with pastels as well. With simple strokes and smears, he was able to portray movement in his work. His last drawing was completed in 1905 and Degas ended his career as an artist.

This is a biography of Edgar Degas, a French artist. The story is quite fast paced, with lots of quotes from the artist and his friends. The book contains Degas’ artworks, from plain sketches to elaborate paintings. Each artwork has its own description that details the image and tells the readers what to look for. The paintings provided are famous that readers might come across them in websites or in museums. At the end of the book, there is a full biography of Edgar Degas for interested readers.

This is a great introductory book about Edgar Degas and also into artists and their artwork. Readers will marvel at the detailed and vivid world of dance, painted by Degas, the master painter of dancing girls.

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LibraryThing member lalfonso

Degas’s dance paintings and are some of my favorite in all of art. I love the way he captured the dancers in different poses, doing various aspects of dance and performance. This book was interesting in that it told about how he captured their essence on canvas. I especially loved his drawings.

It demonstrates his process and how he began his paintings. Added to that is the first had account of one of the dancers that he painted. That part of the book is truly priceless. I would recommend this book for students in grades 3-6. Lesson ideas would include an art class teaching the process of Degas, and biography. Students could talk about how important the senses are to us. Degas was losing his eyesight. A discussion could center around how this would affect his work.

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