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, calle…