written by Michèle Folian. Translation Florence Le Provost
The Musée d'Orsay presents an outstanding retrospective about Edgar Degas work , it is devoted to the nude, a recurring theme throughout the artist's career. An exhibition until July 1, 2012.
Indeed, even though Degas' work is mostly famous for themes such as dance or horses, Edgar Degas' body of works (1834-1917) is nevertheless punctuated by nude paintings, hence the idea of this exhibition.
Co-organised with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition features a very rich collection of graphic works from the Musée d'Orsay - seldom shown because of their sensitivity to light - and exceptional loans from the greatest private and public collections throughout the world, such as those of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery, London, and the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Fifty years of changes and continuities of the nude
Through a selection of 170 works, including either pastels, drawings or sculptures, « Degas and the Nude » presents the chronological evolution of the artist's work, from his early studies based on classical Antiquity in the 1850s, to his final works shortly before WWI, thus highlighting the changes and continuities over the course of more than 50 years of activity, from Impressionism to Early Modern Painting.
From his early academic training to his most radical and simplified figures, and including his Naturalist years, Degas's work evolved, no longer putting forward an idealised nude, but rather a completely new representation of the naked body.
Edgar Degas, Après le Bain, femme s'essuyant la nuque. [After the Bath, Woman drying her Neck], 1895-1898. Pastel on fine vellum paper glued on card, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, bequest of count Isaac de Camondo, 1911.Degas's last Impressionist exhibition, in 1886, was thus a turning point in his career. It presented brand new works, such as The Tub, and Woman dressing herself, both part of a selection of naked women, either bathing, drying or grooming themselves. Both works, are being shown together for the first time since 1886.
Edgar Degas, Le Tub. [The Tub], 1886. Pastel on fine vellum paper glued on card, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, bequest of count Isaac de Camondo, 1911.Influenced by Realism, Degas drew more and more raw sketches, showing prostitutes in brothel scenes from which harshness and compassion emerge. A personal work that the artist «probably did not intend to display», according to Xavier Rey, curator of the exhibition.
This retrospective also offers visitors the opportunity to discover Degas'work as well as that of other artists who influenced him (Ingres or Delacroix) those who worked at the same time (Caillebotte, Renoir) or those he inspired (Matisse, Picasso or Bonnard).
Edgar Degas, Deux Femmes au bain, [Two Women Bathing], circa 1895. Pastel on paper mounted on card, Aix-en-Provence, Musée Granet, communauté d'agglomération du pays d'Aix-en-Provence. On permanent loan from the Jean and Suzanne Planque Foundation.« The aim of this retrospective is to explain why Degas occupies such an important place in the history of 19th century art and to highlight his ability to bring together the classical culture of his era and the avant-garde movements of the 20th century, through works that are rarely brought together, either because of their fragility or their diversity », the curators of the exhibition said.
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