Degas – his figure drawings…taking a closer look

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Today, I was flipping through the superb book, Degas by Himself, edited by Richard Kendall. I found I was drawn (hah!) to Degas’s figure drawings especially after life drawing last week on Salt Spring. Most of us are familiar with his more well known paintings and pastels of racehorses, ballerinas and portraits but here were drawings I’d never seen before.

 

“Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see.”

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

This aphorism is sooooo true don’t you think? Okay, check out the drawings below.

 

Here’s a series of head sketches, mostly likely done from life. Looking through the other drawings in the book, it appears that Degas used ink less frequently later on in life.

 

STUDIES OF HEADS, Notebook 18 pg 199, c.1860, brown ink, 25.4 x 46 cm, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

 

In 1872-73, at aged 38 and well established, Degas took a trip to the United States, visiting New Orleans, his mother’s birthplace. On the ship, he made these sketches. See the way the wind catches the coat and also look at how Degas redraws the unique mouth of the man with the beard in the middle.

 

PASSENGERS ON BOARD SHIP, Notebook 25 pgs 170-171 and 164, 1872-1873, Pencil, each 18.7 x 12 cm, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

 

Drawn a few years later, we again see Degas’s interest in gesture and facial expression in these sketches. Look at those gloves, so emphasized and with much meaning! And can’t you imagine what those men might be about to say?

 

A SKETCHBOOK PAGE, c.1878, pencil, 25.1 x 34.5 cm, Collection of Mr. and Mrs Eugene Victor Thaw, New York

 

And next, a lovely small drawing that, with so few lines, communicates much information – the placement of dancers on stage, the boxes with audience members, and the necks and scrolls of double basses (or perhaps cellos?). Can’t you just see Degas scribbling away? No doubt this was one of many inspirations for his theatre paintings.

 

DANCERS ON STAGE
DANCERS ON STAGE, Notebook 24 pgs 26-27, c.1873, pencil, 11.7 x 15.8, Bibilitheque Nationale, Paris

 

Examine this exquisite drawing of a violinist. Look at the many changes Degas made through much of the drawing: both hand positions (more evident in the placement of the musician’s left arm), and both legs. Once Degas had captured the body as he wanted it, he added white chalk to the violin to bring out the shine of the wood.

 

THE VIOLINIST, 1878-79, charcoal and white chalk, 47.9 x 30.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

 

I can’t not include a ballet dancer, so here she is. Again, look at the subtle adjustments Degas made, this time primarily in the legs. He redrew the left arm separately, lengthening the upper arm. Also note the squaring up in preparation to transfer the drawing perhaps to a canvas.

 

DANCER ADJUSTING HER TIGHTS, c. 1880-1885, black chalk, 24.2 x 31.3 cm, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

 

The next drawings were done with a painting in mind. You can see how things developed from drawing to final image.

 

Here are two nudes, drawn from life I assume, with at least one of them done in preparation for the painting, War Scene in the Middle Ages. What I appreciate most about these drawings is that with so little and very delicate shading, Degas reveals so much of the form of the body. Again note the small shift in the lines as Degas feels his way to the final positioning.

 

NUDE LYING ON HER BACK, (no date given), black chalk, 26.5 x 35.1 cm, Musee du Louvre, Paris

 

STUDY FOR WAR SCENE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, c. 1865, black chalk, 19.3 x 35.5 cm, Musee du Louvre, Paris

 

And here’s the painting (done when Degas was 31), one I’d never heard of before.

 

WAR SCENE IN THE MIDDLE AGES, 1865, oil on paper, 85 x 147 cm, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

 

Another preparatory drawing done in the same year, this time his interest was in the details of the face.

 

STUDY FOR MME HERTAL, 1865, pencil, 35.7 x 23.3 cm, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge

 

Here’s the final (and unusual) painting. Notice nothing seems to have changed in the face between drawing and painting. I’d like to know how in the world Degas get away with that composition??

 

A WOMAN WITH CHRYSANTHEMUMS, 1865, oil on canvas, 71 x 92 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

And one last set. Here, a quick sketch of the positioning of the body, that’s all.

 

STUDY FOR PORTRAIT OF DIEGO MARTELLI, Notebook 31 pg 25, (no date given but presumably c.1879), pencil, 16.7 x 11.1 cm, Bibilotheque Nationale, Paris)

 

And here’s the painting:

 

PORTRAIT OF DIEGO MARTELLI, 1879, oil on canvas, 110 x 100 cm, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

 

I’d love to hear what you think about the these drawings. Just click on the title of this blog and you’ll find yourself on my website. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll find the comment box. And of course feel free to share this post – just click on the ‘share’ button below.

 

Before ending I wanted to share a couple of interesting things with you.

 

Reading Degas’s letters, I noticed that he used to sign his name De Gas. By 1860 (at 26 years old), he was signing them Degas. I was curious. In a Wikipedia footnote, I found that Degas was the ancestral family name but according to Jean Sutherland Boggs, Degas’s father, “with some pretentions,” used the spelling De Gas when he moved to Paris to establish a French branch of the Neopolitan bank. “While Edgar Degas’s brother René adopted the still more aristocratic de Gas, the artist reverted to the original spelling, Degas, by age thirty.”

 

The other small item I want to mention is the possessive spelling of Degas – Degas’s or Degas’ – which was correct? I had my opinion but went looking for confirmation in Eats, Shoots and Leaves (an amusing book about grammer that everyone should read!) and basically it sounds like ‘Degas’s is correct but using Degas’ is just fine. Interestingly, wikipedia uses both but mostly Degas’s while the editor of the book from which these photos come uses Degas’. Does any of this make sense??? Sure hope so.

 

Whew!!!

If you made it this far, you get a gold star 🙂

Until next time,

 

~ Gail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Degas – his figure drawings…taking a closer look”

    1. Thanks for sticking with it gold star girl!

      I went back and forth deciding which possessive form to use. I felt pulled to Degas’ too because when we say it, we don’t seem to put in that extra ‘s’ sound. Apparently modern names (as opposed to ancient like Achilles) ending with ‘s’ call for the apostrophe ‘s’. Glad it’s fine either way! Thanks for the opportunity to say something more about it 😀

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