Edgar degas impressionism artwork 1800s
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The Scary Truth Behind Degas's Ballet Paintings
Known for his whimsical Impressionist portrayals of ballet dancers, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas is a household name. The whirs of softly colored tutus and strokes of pink to flush each figure’s cheeks evoke a sense of joyful voyeurism, as if each viewer of the painting was sitting in the auditoriums depicted. Behind the glitz, glamor and youthful innocence, however, lies a darker truth. With Artsper, dive into the scary story behind the iconic Degas ballet paintings.
Some history
It’s important to view Edgar Degas’s ballet paintings in the context of the French social scene at the time of their painting. Picture it: it’s the 1870s in Paris, the Belle Époque. It’s a time of peace, prosperity and great economic growth following the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Shopping centers are opening across the city as fashion, art and culture become synonymous with Paris. The construction of the famed Parisian opera house, the Palais Garnier, was just completed and dancers are ready to take the stage. Impressionism is in full swing, with the first official exhibition of the Impressionists— Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas among others— taking place in Par
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Degas and the Laundress: Women, Work, and Impressionism
Principal support is provided by Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP. Major support is provided by the John P. Murphy Foundation. Additional support is provided by Christie’s, the FRench American Museum Exchange (FRAME), Carl M. Jenks, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Porter Jr., and the Simon Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and the late Roy L. Williams. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm, Gary and Katy Brahler, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Richard and Dian Disantis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Carl T. Jagatich, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce