Edgar Degas

Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas in Paris on 19 July 1834, he trained for history painting with rigorous academic discipline and a close eye on classical art. In his early thirties he pivoted, turning those traditional methods toward contemporary life: dancers mid-rehearsal, jockeys leaning into the track, bathers caught unaware. He worked in pastel, oil, bronze, and prints, but more than half of his output returned to one subject - dance. His portraits carried psychological weight and often framed their subjects in isolation. Though grouped with the Impressionists, he rejected the label, called himself a realist, and refused to paint outdoors. He died in Paris on 27 September 1917, a superb draftsman who spent decades watching movement and rendering it still.