How Did Edgar Degas Influence Impressionism

Layton Nosbush

Reading & Writing

E. Hudecova

Oct-15-15

Weighing Era Influences: Two Sides of the Fulcrum Pushing boundaries and discovering how to create something new that no one has seen before is what art is all about. Since the earliest practices of art, artists have been breaking through the standards of what art can really be. Early impressionists disrupted the rules of academic painting and created a style uniquely their own. Edgar Degas was one impressionist artist that wanted to express what he saw in the exact moment. With this style of Impressionism, Degas captures a complete naturalism. Although this new style is unique, it is clear that there were many classical elements that heavily influenced Impressionism. Along with that,

Although labeled as an impressionist, Degas claims his work was in no way spontaneous. He did paint the realties of the world while in the moment, but he claims his works are, “[A] Result of reflection and study of the great masters…” He labored to express naturalism, especially within his depictions of people. Within the classical era, the human form becomes increasingly naturalistic with perfect proportions. This practice is very evident in Degas’ early work of nearly every human depiction, but can easily be seen in any ballet painting simply because they show many full bodies in varied poses. In Degas’ painting “The Dance Class” – 1874, the figures are shown with natural weight distribution as well as a prominent display of the equal affect that a particular position would have on the rest of the body, which Polycleitus strove for in the Doryphorus. Capturing a natural form in the moment from observation is perfect blend of Impressionism and Classical. Much of modern art lacks too much of the naturalism seen in not only Edgar Degas’ work, but other impressionists to have it be labeled as an influential aspect of modern art. Obviously, There is evidence of naturalism within modern art; however, with this area, it is clear that Classical Art had more of an impact on Impressionism than Impressionism had on modern

Realism is a part of one’s artistic preference and with that varies from one artist to another regarding how realistic they choose to make a piece. So, Classical Art, for this area, may not have necessarily have influenced Impressionism as a whole, but indeed influenced Edgar Degas as an Impressionist. Modern art can, of course, be realistic, but there is no hard evidence showing that it was influenced by Impressionism because much of Impressionism did not express realism. “Musicians in the Orchestra” – 1872, is a great representation of Degas’ proficiency with realism. Within the piece, there is an extreme attention to detail as well as an obvious delineation from person to representational portrait. Degas is portraying a specific person rather than an imagined form, which is the classification for realism rather than idealism. Obviously, this is in part because he paints the moment he is in, but it also comes from his study of the great masters who, in the veristic period of Classical Art, become extremely interested in portraying the “everyday subject” in its most realistic form: portraying a specific person rather than a general and recognizable form. With this and many other pieces of his, Degas prominently adopted those classical