Edgar Degas : Defining the Modernist Edge

by Edited by Jennifer R. Gross; With contributions by Suzanne Boorsch, Susan P. Casteras, Jill DeVonyar, Aruna D´Souza, Susan D. Greenberg, Richard Kendall, and Edgar Munhall

• ISBN13: 9780300100044
• ISBN10: 0300100043
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2003-01-11
• Publisher: YU Art Gallery

Summary

Through his representation of modern subjects such as ballet dancers and race horses, his constant questioning of traditional artistic practices, and his vital engagement with Parisian society, Edgar Degas (1834-1917) helped to define the beginnings of modernism in visual culture at the end of the nineteenth century. This engaging book yields new scholarship on works by Degas in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery and provides in-depth discussion of works of art in every medium explored by this innovative artist. Extended entries by distinguished scholars including Richard Kendall and Edgar Munhall provide a complete review of the artist's working methods. The book also introduces several important pieces by Degas that have rarely been available for view by the public, including a notable wax figure and several unique prints and works on paper.

Author Biography

Suzanne Boorsch is curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Yale University Art Gallery Susan P. Casteras is professor of art history at the University of Washington in Seattle Jill DeVonyar, a former ballet dancer, subsequently trained as an art historian and is now an independent curator Aruna D'Souza is assistant professor of art history and co-director of the M.A. program in art history, theory, and criticism at Purchase College Susan D. Greenberg is assistant curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Yale University Art Gallery Jennifer R. Gross is the Seymour H. Knox, Jr. Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Yale University Art Gallery Richard Kendall is consultant curator of nineteenth-century art at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and an independent exhibition curator and scholar specializing in the work of Edgar Degas Edgar Munhall is curator emeritus at The Frick Collection

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	7	(1)
Jock Reynolds
Introduction	8	(4)
Jennifer R. Gross
Catalogue	12	(58)
Key to Abbreviations	70	(1)
Contributors	71