Image details: Edgar Degas
France 1834–1917
Dancer with bouquets (Danseuse aux bouquets)  c. 1895–1900
oil on canvas
180.0 x 151.0 cm
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk
Gift of Walter P Chrysler Jr in memory of Della Viola Forker Chrysler

Summer of art with a French master opens at the National Gallery of Australia*

Australia’s first-ever exhibition of works by French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917) opened at the National Gallery of Australia yesterday. It will be shown only in Canberra.

Degas: master of French art has been developed by the National Gallery of Australia, which has selected the works, negotiated the loans and researched and published the exhibition book.

The exhibition includes more than 120 paintings, drawings, sculptures, monotypes, prints, and photographs drawn from 45 collections from all over the world.

“Edgar Degas was a pioneer who had a major impact on painting, sculpture and printmaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And, of course, the strength of the National Gallery’s international collection is the late 19th and 20th centuries,” said Ron Radford, Director of the National Gallery of Australia.

The exhibition will include eight Degas works on paper from the National Gallery’s own collection.

Degas was an innovator in depicting images of everyday life in Paris. Many of the works exhibited focus on Degas’ favourite subject matter — the ballet, behind-the-scenes views at the opera, the racetrack, the café, concerts, laundresses and women bathing, as well as brothels.

Degas: master of French art has brought together some of the finest examples of Degas’ talent and shows his evolution as an artist. It is the culmination of almost three years work by one of the National Gallery of Australia’s senior curators of international art, Jane Kinsman.

It seeks to examine how the artist successfully absorbed the rich lessons of the old masters and applied these in his modern-day subjects, leading him to his own singular style.

“Degas was one of the great artists of ‘modern life’. He became increasingly innovative in his composition and execution. The exhibition is an exploration of Degas’ world as much as it is a display of his talent. His diverse subjects will appeal to a broad audience,” said Ms Kinsman.

The exhibition features The dance class (La classe de danse), on loan from the Musée d’Orsay, alongside other iconic works such as Dancer with bouquets  (Danseuse aux bouquets) from the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Dancers, pink and green (Danseuses, roses et vertes) from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Little dancer aged fourteen cast (La petite danseuse de quatorze ans) from the St Louis Art Museum; A cotton office in New Orleans (Un bureau de coton à la Nouvelle-Orléans) from the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Pau; and At the races in the countryside (Carriage at the races) (Aux courses en province (La voiture aux courses)) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

*Nased on media release issued by National Gallery of Australia.