Abstract
Copies of Old Masters, references to past art, repetition of
figures as well as compositions, and an affinity for modern,
figural subjects all characterize the œuvre of Edgar Degas
(1834-1917). Despite his affiliation with the Impressionists,
Degas's methods and art suggest instead participation in a new kind
of modernism. First, I will address Degas's education and how a
knowledge of Old Masters' methods and figuration shaped his early
development. Then I will discuss Degas's choice to focus primarily
on dancers and his continued commitment to traditional methods,
which contrasted strongly with the Impressionists' plein air
landscapes and relinquishment of painterly techniques.
Paradoxically, Degas's employment of his predecessors' conventional
methods, ranging from subjects to tired compositional formulae,
allowed him to grasp fleeting moments of reality in the modern
world. Ultimately, Degas developed a unique modernism, built upon
repetition first through copying Old Masters, and then by continued
self-citation of figures and compositions he had developed. This
approach placed Degas not only within the artistic lineage of the
predecessors he admired but also the modernity of his time.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Repetition as a means to
originality..................................1
Chapter I. An
education.....................................................................8
Chapter II. La Nouvelle Peinture, Degas, and the Repetition
of Artifice.....43
Conclusion.......................................................................................71
Works cited and
referenced................................................................75
About this Honors Thesis
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