HISTORIC CONTEXT:
Degas joined the French National Guard in 1 870 in order to defend Paris during the Franco-Prussian war.
Degas is traditionally considered an impressionist artist.
Opening with a selection of works that show
Degas studying and copying from artists he admired, and in some cases went on to collect--from early Renaissance artists and Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17th century (Fig.
If she does not have a reputation as a risk-taker, perhaps it is because "whereas
Degas would work and rework his innovative projects, often ruining them in the process, Cassatt was quicker to recognize when an experiment could not be fully resolved (at least to her satisfaction) and to move on," Hoenigswald and Jones suggest (122).
Subject matter also speaks to
Degas' retrospective-mindset: studies for early history paintings are found alongside jockeys, bathers, laundresses, and dancers.
The 70-year-old owner insists however, that the artwork, which he said was worth e1/46.0 million, is an original
Degas inherited by him from his grandmother who lived in Paris.
National Museums Liverpool's curator of European Art, Xanthe Brooke, explained: "The reason we're so pleased and delighted to have La Masseuse is because it relates so closely to our only
Degas painting.
The National Museum Wales was selected to receive one of the
Degas sculptures, while the painting was left specifically to the National Gallery in London.
Freud, who was widely considered to be Britain's greatest living artist before his death in 2011, chose to donate four works of art, including three bronze sculptures by
Degas and a painting by French artist Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, in lieu of PS2,340,000 of inheritance tax.
The first section demonstrates that
Degas's dancer paintings continuously reinforce traditional conceptions of women even through their evolving styles.
"When
Degas started to make a name for himself, he found that his paintings of dancers, horses or scenes of contemporary life sold at a premium compared to his nudes," according to Xavier Rey, curator of the exhibition which is jointly organized with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.