Degas Dancers Keepsake Box Note Cards

A museum-quality set of Degas Dancers 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" note cards (blank inside). Comes in a fine keepsake box with magnetic closure. 16 cards total, four cards each of four different designs, plus 17 subtly-striped robin's-egg-blue envelopes, which match the exterior of the box. Box measures 6" x 4-3/4" x 1-1/4". Store theater ticket stubs in the box when the cards are gone!

Inside cover...

Degas Dancers

Edgar Degas, whose prolific and highly creative artistic career spanned six decades, is best known for his portrayals of ballet dancers. He spent years behind the footlights, drawing the movements of these young ballerinas. Degas' interest in the subject was inspired by his passion for music and the opera, as well as the visual possibilities provided by the interior space of theaters, such as the intriguing contrast between light and shadow, illusion and reality, and beauty and triviality.

Although Degas is often classed with Impressionists and he showed works at seven of the eight Impressionist exhibitions, he preferred to call himself a realist. In contrast to Impressionist masters like Claude Monet, who worked outdoors to explore the transitory effects of natural light, Degas was fascinated by artificial light and showed little interest in landscapes or street scenes. The charming appearance of spontaneity in many of his pieces is deceptive. He often worked in his studio and, a true perfectionist, could rework a particular image numerous times until he was satisfied. In his words, "even when working from nature, one has to compose" and "no art was ever less spontaneous than mine."

Degas turned to pastels when his eyesight started to fail, since this medium did not require great precision in line or detail. In addition, he relied on entrancing colors and expressive gestures to capture scenes of intimate beauty. With his eyesight worsening, Degas only worked on large compositions during the 1890s. In 1908 he renounced art completely and grew increasingly reclusive and eccentric. He died in Paris in 1917.