“Degas… et le Nu”… at the Musée d’Orsay…

“Degas…

et le Nu“….

We… came to admire…

The exceptional show… “Degas and the Nude“…

The exhibition… organised by the Musée d’Orsay and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston…

The first major exhibition in Paris of Edgar Degas… since the 1988 retrospective at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais.

An astonishing… achievement…

An exceptional… undertaking…

Since many of the pieces are… sensitive to light… and extremely fragile.

Visiting the Musée d’Orsay… has always been a pleasure…

The famed museum… which has been newly revamped… was as impressive as ever.

Entering… into the airy ivory spaces with the huge landmark clock… staring at us… gave us the usual thrill…

With the added anticipation and excitement of witnessing first-hand the ravishing works… paintings, sculptures, charcoals, and flamboyant pastels… spanning fifty years of Degas… classical genre painting of the 19th century… until… the avant-garde movements of the 20th century.

Degas… was greatly admired and imitated by two famous artists…

Matisse and Picasso.

Although… he was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement… he preferred to be called… a Realist.

A superb draughtsman… his name was synonymous with the impressionist paintings of Ballet dancers… in this… his latest exhibition… it is… stripped down to nudes…

George Shackleford… co-curator… commented…

“If people think of his dancers… then they have simply not been paying attention. Ballet he staked out because it was more marketable… after all, artists had to live. The nude, however, was his constant touchstone”.

In his historical composition… “Petites filles spartiates provoquant des garçons“… (“Young Spartans Exercising”)… Degas… amply showed his expertise in corporeal detail.

The “Scènes de guerre au Moyen Âge“… (“Scene of War in the Middle Ages”)… was a pivotal point in his career where he gave the nude… bold and powerful attention… turning his back on the Academic style… freeing him from the constraints of tradition…

Moving strongly… towards Realism.

Degas… excelled in his pastels in which… “The Tub“… is the most prestigious example of this medium… which he raised to the highest level.

One of our favourites… of his pastels… was the beautiful and luminous painting called… “Après le bain, femme s’essuyant la nuque“… (“After the Bath, Woman Drying her Neck”)…

Also… in his exploration of all techniques… painting, sculpture, charcoal, and pastel…

Degas… bridged… and demonstrated… his liberation from Naturalist accuracy… into movement and a simplification of forms…

A legacy… Degas left for the generation of artists that followed him…

His various techniques… highlight the artist‘s innovative style… revealing… another aspect of Degas‘ fascinating temperament… showing him… to be a key figure in the emergence of the Modern art movement in Europe.

“Degas et le Nu“… was a thrilling study of a man… a painter… who treated women like real human beings… warts and all… like the “Young Woman Dressing Herself“… who exposes an ample “derrière“… was called… “dumpy” and a “fat bourgeoisie“…

Emphasising his complete move to… Realism…

Edgar Degas…

A… compassionate artist…

A… brilliant one…

A classical painter… of modern times…

We… so…

Admired… his works…

His… masterpieces…

His… formidable…

LEGACY.

a.