Degas: The Artist’s Mind

by Theodore Reff

More than any other Impressionist, Degas consciously based his work on ideas. “What I do is the result of reflection and study of the great masters,” he once confessed; “of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament I know nothing.” Theodore Reff here shows us the intellectual power and originality of Degas’s complex art―as seen in his ingenious pictorial strategies and technical innovations; his use of motifs like the window, the mirror, the picture within the picture; his invention of striking, psychologically compelling compositions; and his creation of a sculptural idiom at once formal and vernacular. These essays also investigate Degas’s contacts with leading novelists and poets of his time and his efforts to illustrate or draw inspiration from their works.

Genres: Art History, Art

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1987

Reviews

[Leisa Corbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are an admirer of Degas and really want to understand the thoughts which informed and inspired his work, this book is for you. If you are someone who loves the beauty of Degas' ballet pastels and simply wants to enjoy the beautiful colors, you will be bored stiff by this book.
I recommend it for art historians and artists who want to take their work to a higher level

[Laura]

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