Edgar Degas

French painter. His real name was Hilaire Germain Edgar de Gas. He was born in Paris on July 19th. His father was the Paris branch manager of a bank that his grandfather had founded in Naples, and was an art lover. As the eldest son of a banker, Degas studied at the prestigious Louis Legrand School, where he gained a classical education. In 1853, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris, but at the same time he attended Barrias's studio and also attempted to copy classical works in the printmaking room of the National Library of Paris. The following year, he abandoned his law studies and began full-scale training at the art school of Louis Lamotte, an ardent disciple of Ingres. In 1855, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts (National School of Fine Arts). That same year, he had the opportunity to visit Ingres in his later years through his father's friend Valpinçon, and this was a memory that he would never forget. The classical master gave Degas the following advice: "Draw lines, lots of lines, either from memory or from sight." He learned a great deal from Ingres in drawing, which is one of the most essential aspects of Degas's art. Among his early works, the portraits of his relatives and friends show particularly high artistic achievement, and it is easy to see the influence of Ingres in their realistic sense and delicate aesthetic expression. From 1856 to 1860, he traveled to Italy, where his relatives lived and his father was born, visiting various places and coming into contact with classical works, which he actively attempted to copy. This trip resulted in the masterpiece "The Bellelli Family", full of subtle psychological insights. Along with portraits, he also worked on a series of historical paintings, such as "Spartan Girls Challenging the Boys", following a traditional tendency. However, his period of historical painting came to an end with "The Disasters of the City of Orléans", which marked his debut at the Salon in 1865, and he gradually turned his attention to modern life.

He met Manet, who shared the same bourgeois tastes, and gathered with painters and writers at the Café Guerbois and the Café de la Nouvelle Athène, and participated in Impressionist exhibitions. He exhibited in seven of the eight group exhibitions held since 1874, and was an active promoter of the group, but he did not fully agree with the aesthetics of Impressionism, and had little interest in plein air expression. His main themes were dancers on stage and in rehearsals, horses and jockeys at horse races, milliners and laundresses, and women bathing. His works, which account for almost half of his total works, began to be painted in earnest in the early 1970s, horse races were painted intermittently from the 1960s, and bathers were painted frequently from around 1980. His works, with their various poses of the human body, bold trimmings, unusual viewpoints, and unexpected compositions, depict the fleeting appearance of moving things and the reality of life, as captured by a painter who was acutely sensitive to the impressions of movement. These are not merely slices of a scene taken by chance, but scenes from a carefully considered moment, born from his outstanding drawing skills and tireless efforts. In later years, he made extensive use of pastels, fully demonstrating his talent as a colorist. However, from around 1993, his eyesight deteriorated drastically, to the point of near blindness. After that, he devoted himself to the wax sculptures he had been working on since the 1980s. However, he eventually abandoned them, and died in Paris on September 26, 1917.

[Tatsuji Omori]

"Complete Collection of Contemporary World Art 6: Degas" by Shuji Takashina (1971, Shueisha)" ▽ "Degas" by D.C. Rich, translated by Tsuneyoshi Matsuyama (1961, Bijutsu Shuppansha)" ▽ "Degas, Dance and Drawing" by Valéry, translated by Kenichi Yoshida (1955, Shinchosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。本名Hilaire Germain Edgar de Gas。7月19日パリに生まれる。父は、祖父がナポリに創設した銀行のパリ支店長で、芸術の愛好者。ドガは銀行家の長男にふさわしく、名門ルイ・ルグラン中学に学び、古典の教養を積む。1853年パリ大学法学部に籍を置くが、同時にバリアスのアトリエにも通い、またパリ国立図書館の版画室で古典作品の模写をも試みる。翌年、法律の勉強を放棄し、アングルの熱烈な弟子ルイ・ラモットの画塾で本格的な修業を始めた。55年エコール・デ・ボザール（国立美術学校）に入学。この年、父の友人バルパンソンを通じて晩年のアングルを訪ねる機会を得、生涯忘れえぬ思い出を心に刻むことになる。古典派の巨匠はドガにこう助言した。「線を引きなさい、たくさんの線を。記憶によってでも、ものを見ながらでもかまいません。」彼はアングルからデッサンを大いに学ぶが、それはドガ芸術のもっとも本質をなすものの一つといえる。初期の作品のなかでとりわけ高い芸術的達成を示しているのは、近親者や友人の肖像画だが、その現実的感覚と繊細な美的表現にアングルの影響をみるのは容易であろう。56年から60年にかけて、親族が暮らし、父が生まれたイタリアに旅し、各地を訪れ、古典作品に触れて盛んに模写を試みた。この旅行から、微妙な心理的洞察に満ちた大作『ベレッリ家の家族』が生まれる。肖像画とともに、彼は伝統的傾向に従って『少年たちに挑戦するスパルタの娘たち』など一連の歴史画に取り組む。しかし歴史画時代も65年にサロンへのデビューを飾った『オルレアン市の災禍』でほぼ終わりを告げ、彼の目はしだいに現代生活へと向けられていった。

　同じブルジョア的趣味を分かちもつマネと出会い、カフェ・ゲルボワやカフェ・ド・ラ・ヌーベル・アテーヌで画家や文学者と集い、印象派展に参加する。1874年から8回開かれたこのグループ展に彼は7回も出品し、積極的な推進役ともなるが、印象派の美学に全面的に賛同していたわけではなく、外光表現にはほとんど関心がなかった。舞台や稽古(けいこ)場の踊り子、競馬の馬と騎手、婦人帽子屋や洗濯屋の女、入浴する女などが彼の主要なテーマとなる。全作品のほぼ半数を占める踊り子の作品は70年代前半から本格的に描かれ、競馬は60年代から断続的に、また浴女は80年ごろから盛んに描かれる。さまざまな人体のポーズ、大胆なトリミング、特異な視点の設定、意表をつく構図など、その作品には運動の印象に鋭く感応する画家がとらえた、動くものの一瞬の姿、生の現実が描かれている。それも単なる偶然によって切り取られた一断面ではなく、熟慮された瞬間の様相であり、卓越したデッサン力と飽くことのない努力から生まれたものである。後年、パステルを多用し、色彩画家としての側面をも遺憾なく発揮した。しかし、93年ごろから極度に視力が衰え、ほとんど失明に近い状態になったのちは、80年代から手がけていた蝋(ろう)による彫刻に没頭した。だが、それもやがて放棄し、1917年9月26日パリに没した。

［大森達次］

『高階秀爾著『現代世界美術全集6　ドガ』（1971・集英社）』▽『D・C・リッチ著、松山恒美訳『ドガ』（1961・美術出版社）』▽『ヴァレリー著、吉田健一訳『ドガ・ダンス・デッサン』（1955・新潮社）』

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