Avidly exploring the movement of the human body, Degas produced a body of work unrivaled in beauty and innovation. For the latest instalment of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Art Exhibitions Australia (AEA), present the most significant international survey exhibition of the work of Edgar Degas in almost thirty years. Curated by eminent French scholar and former Director of the Musée du Louvre, Henri Loyrette, ‘Degas: A New Vision’ explores the complete span of the artist’s 50-year career, highlighting his technical, conceptual and expressive achievements across the different mediums of painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and photography. The exhibition is evidence that Degas is more than just a painter of dancers.
The comprehensive exhibition fills the gallery space with over 200 works of art on loan from more than 50 cities and 12 countries. Presented thematically, the works are sectioned according to the many subjects that fascinated Degas throughout his career: family portraits like the iconic The Bellelli family (c.1858-1867), nudes, his renowned theatre halls like The rehearsal (c.1873-78) and On stage III (1876-77), as well as emotive portrayals of Parisian nightlife; the brothel, the racecourse, the art exhibition and the café. These places of leisure gave rise to the important figure in 19th century French culture, the flâneur – a person who walks the city in order to experience it – the quintessential counterpart to Degas. Captivated by modern life, Degas depicted these scenes with great sensitivity, observing the isolation and psychological complexity of his subjects.
Other subjects included the everyday labours of the 19th century woman – the millinery shop and the laundry – as seen in Woman ironing (c.1882-86). The painting shows heavy influence from Japanese prints, employing cut-off figures, asymmetric compositions, strong diagonal emphasis and expanses of empty space. Other works give an insight into the private lives of bourgeois masculine work – the office, stock exchange and the study – such as A cotton office in New Orleans (1873).
Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV, says, “Presenting Edgar Degas’s magnificent oeuvre in a fresh and reinvigorated light showcases him as one of the defining artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries… ‘Degas: A New Vision’ will provide audiences with a rare experience to truly be
immersed in the creativity and originality of his art, giving visitors a deeper and richer understanding of his brilliance.”
‘Degas: A New Vision’ allows visitors to become steeped in the theatrical world of Degas and his subjects and appreciate the artist’s dedication to revealing a more intricate fabric of these lives. It was the performance of life itself that Degas wanted to capture, with unexpected close-ups and vantage points, bringing not just movement to life but making the viewer the audience, still applauding 100 years on.
NGV International
Until 18 September, 2016
Melbourne
