Impressionist Edgar Degas Analysis

Famous for his work during the Impressionist movement, Edgar Degas "objected violently to the label ‘Impressionist’" imposed upon him by the public (Gordon 31). He dismissed the spontaneity and sentiment of the plien air landscape painters such as Renoir and Monet; preferring to capture the reality of his subjects through careful studies, a habit of his classical academic training, rather than impromptu oil paintings (Monneir). Considered one of the founders of Impressionism, Degas shared the desire to "capture fleeting moments in the flow of modern life," using clean colors, light, and defined strokes (Schenkel) (Monnier). However, he preferred to depict urban life and city dwellers in theaters and cafés with the detail and structure of a Realist. First and foremost, he considered himself a detached observer. To Degas, "art does not reach out, it sums up;” “what I [Degas] do is the result of reflection" (Gordon 7) (Gordon 53). It is through this lens that Degas' use of unusual, yet strangely familiar, viewpoints does not invite the viewer in, but casts the view in the role of the audience, the subject completely unaware. This calculated detachment is apparent in his most famous works including his bathers and his dancers which

The printing plate is coated with an acid-resistant ground, then drawn on with a sharp point by the artist. The etching stylus, or sharp point, scrapes the ground off the plate, exposing the metal beneath. The plate then goes into an acid bath creating a bite where the artist exposed the metal. A “bite” is a grove, indentation or texture created where the acid reacts with the metal plate. To print an etching, ink is applied to the plate then wiped into the grooves and off of the unbitten surfaces. When run through a printing press, the paper is pushed into the grooves filled with ink and the image is