Art, literature & historyLA FEMME A LA POTICHE
Edgar Degas · 1872
Edgar Degas: 1834–1917
Other names (1)
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas
Biography
Edgar Degas (UK: , US: ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, French: [ilɛːʁ ʒɛʁmɛ̃ ɛdɡaʁ də ɡa]; 19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced wax sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers. Although Degas is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a realist, and did not paint outdoors as many Impressionists did.
Degas was a superb draftsman, and particularly masterly in depicting movement, as can be seen in his rendition of dancers and bathing female nudes. In addition to ballet dancers and bathing women, Degas painted racehorses and racing jockeys, as well as portraits. His portraits are notable for their psychological complexity and their portrayal of human isolation.
At the beginning of his career, Degas wanted to be a history painter, a calling for which he was well prepared by his rigorous academic training and close study of classical Western art. In his early thirties he changed course, and by bringing the traditional methods of a history painter to bear on contemporary subject matter, he became a classical painter of modern life.
Wikipedia contributors. Opening excerpt, formatted for reading. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision.
Influenced by
- Eugène Delacroixeditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Titianeditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingreseditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Mary Cassattdocumented
Evidence
The exhibition describes Degas’s enduring admiration for Cassatt. The cited museum text was read and supports this relationship.
- Jean-Paul Flandrineditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
- Michelangeloeditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Louis Lamotheeditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
- Édouard Maneteditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Raphaeleditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Hippolyte Flandrineditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
Later influence
- Aksel Waldemar Johannesseneditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Georges Lemmeneditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Marie Bracquemondeditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautreceditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Henri Gervexeditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Bernard Buffeteditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Ernest Rouarteditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
- Pierre-Auguste Renoireditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Cecilia Beauxeditorial inference
Evidence
Reviewed the named influence and direction in the source passage. Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Richard Diebenkorneditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Paul Gauguineditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Mary Cassattdocumented
Evidence
The exhibition describes Cassatt’s enduring admiration for Degas. The cited museum text was read and supports this relationship.
- Walter Sickerteditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Mary Cassattdocumented
Evidence
Cassatt acknowledged the transformative effect of encountering Degas’s art. The cited museum text was read and supports this relationship.
- Edward Hoppereditorial inference
Evidence
Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
Artworks by year
Loading chronology…Museum / collectionAll collections
Finding recorded artworks…
Museums & collections
Documented holdings of works attributed to Edgar Degas. Check the museum’s record for current display information.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art103 recorded works
- National Gallery of Art86 recorded works
- Musée d’Orsay36 recorded works
- The Cleveland Museum of Art32 recorded works
- Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)21 recorded works
- Minneapolis Institute of Art14 recorded works
- National Gallery8 recorded works
- MuMa - Musée d’art moderne André Malraux4 recorded works
- Musée Marmottan Monet3 recorded works
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts3 recorded works
- Kunsthaus Zürich2 recorded works
- musée Gustave Moreau — Paris2 recorded works
- Tate2 recorded works
- Art Institute of Chicago1 recorded work
- musée d'Art Moderne — Troyes1 recorded work
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen1 recorded work
- musée des Beaux-Arts — Pau1 recorded work
- Philadelphia Museum of Art1 recorded work
- Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe1 recorded work
Sources 12
- Wikidata (CC0)
- National Gallery of Art
- Museum authority country review
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Museum authority country review
- Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)
- Tate Collection metadata (October 2014 snapshot)
- musée d'Orsay — Paris
- musée des beaux-arts — Rouen
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Expanded artwork research — official museum evidence
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)