Movement related to Art, Design, Film

Edgar Degas

One of the founders of Impressionism although he calls himself a Realist. Degas born in France 1834 whose work depicts mostly dancers. His work particularly conveys a lot of movement mainly from renditions of dancers, and female nudes.

Edgar Degas- At the Races (1877-1880) Oil On Canvas

(online) Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edgar_Degas_-_At_the_Races.jpg> (Accessed 27 October 2013)

Firstly, this painting appears more like a snapshot rather than a painting and there is a lot of movement one could observe. In fact, if we take a closer look to the horse at the back his front and back legs are widely spaced and this indicates that it is in  running at a certain speed. Moreover if we observe the other horse we can see that its back left leg is about to make a step forward and even his tail is shifting from side to side. The use of colours and the brush strokes making a rough texture on the ground also help in bringing out movement.

Personal Reflections

This painting depicts the idea of a normal photograph which is captured randomly during horse races. In fact the painting is decentralized and not focused on a particular object. It just depicts a scene from daily life. In fact Impressionists were criticized of painting meaningless with imprecise use of space and lack modelling like it had used to be in academic art. Developments in photography also influenced Degas and the rest of the Impressionists. Also this time was perceived as a golden age in the arts where artists acquired wealth and became famous.

Edgar Degas, n.d. The complete works. (online) Available at <http://www.edgar-degas.org/> (Accessed 27 October 2013)