Always remembered as an Impressionist, Edgar Degas was a member of the seminal group of Paris artists who began to exhibit together in the 1870s. He shared many of their novel techniques, was intrigued by the challenge of capturing effects of light and attracted to scenes of urban leisure. But Degas’s academic training, and his own personal predilection toward Realism, set him apart from his peers, and he rejected the label ‘Impressionist’ preferring to describe himself as an ‘Independent.’ … He was intrigued by the human figure, and in his many images of women – dancers, singers, and laundresses – he strove to capture the body in unusual positions. While critics of the Impressionists focused their attacks on their formal innovations, it was Degas’s lower-class subjects that brought him the most disapproval.
Edgar Degas Paintings, Bio, Ideas | TheArtStory