Room 42

Degas and Art around 1900

Edgar Degas was at the forefront of artistic innovation in Paris from the 1860s to the early years of the 20th century. He was a lifelong experimenter, who moved away from simple observation as his career progressed.

Degas tended to paint variations upon a single theme, such as a dancer, or the precise position of the human body in movement. From the 1870s he developed a particular affinity for using pastel rather than paint. This allowed him to work quickly and to continually refine his compositions. Towards the end of his career, the luminous colours and tactile immediacy of the pastel medium allowed him to create astonishingly bold works of modern art.