Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas (http://www.worldgallery.co.uk/content/degas.html)

Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas also said, “Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.” Edgar Degas was a person who never gave up. His art was something that stood out in a crowd, and that is why he is a hero. He is a hero because he took art and turned it into something people had never seen before.

Born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, France, Edgar Degas had a very happy childhood. He was born, and raised in a very wealthy family. His father owned a bank, but often left work early to bring Edgar to art museums. That is how he got interested in all kinds of art. Later in his life, his father made him go to law school, so when he graduated law school he could help run his father’s bank. But often, Edgar skipped his classes to study and copy art at the Louvre (the Louvre is a museum that lets young artists copy great works of art). Edgar did not tell his father he wanted to become an artist. Also Edgar also took a trip to Italy to study great Italian artists. While he was there, he made a painting that was called The Bellelli Family. That was Edgar Degas’s early life.

Edgar Degas also had some difficulties and problems in his life. One of Edgar’s problems was that his father died in 1874. Another problem, after Edgar’s father died, he lost his family fortune because Edgar’s father owed his money to his customers. Also, Edgar never became an artist until he was twenty-two years old because as I already said his father wanted him to be a banker. As Edgar got older he also lost his eyesight.

Little Dancer Aged 14 (http://www.globalgallery.com/prod_images/600/nim-m871.jpg)

Also, Edgar made many contributions to the world. Almost all of them were paintings but some of them were sculptures. Some of his paintings were “The rehearsal," "Ballet Rehearsal on the stage," "Café concert," and "Ironing Women.” The only sculpture he showed to the world was “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.” Edgar had many recognitions or awards. One of his recognitions was being part of the Impressionists. People didn’t understand the paintings the Impressionists made. Edgar Degas was friends with Monet and Renoir. The Impressionists were made up of Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre Auguste Renoir. The Impressionists were a group of people who painted landscapes and portraits of everyday life. The impressionists where interested in showing the way sunlight showed on a haystack or on a tree or on people. The first show they had didn’t go very well. People thought the paintings looked unfinished and out of focus. Edgar was one of the few impressionists who had any luck with his paintings. One of the paintings that was bought was At the Races in the Country Side. Another recognition was that Edgar Degas’s paintings were different. You couldn’t see his brush strokes. Almost all of them looked like pictures. That was all of Edgar Degas’s contributions and recognitions.

Ballet Rehearsal onstage

Even though Edgar Degas was a painter he was also a perfectionist. One of Edgar’s friends had to chain up one of Edgar’s paintings to his wall so Edgar wouldn’t take it back to his studio every time he came over. Degas was also a loner. He liked working by himself in his studio. He didn’t like it when he worked outside or with other people. But last of all Edgar Degas was hopeful. Even when Edgar actually needed to get money from his paintings he still kept up with his dream of being an artist.

As you can see, Edgar Degas is a hero even though he had a lot of problems in his life but he still kept up with his dreams. Edgar Degas’s art still stands out in crowds today but in a very different way. As Edgar Degas famously said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar never gave up and that is why he is a hero: because he changed the world not just for him but for the other people of the world to see the beauty of his paintings. That is why I think Edgar Degas is a hero.