Edgar Degas: Drawings and Pastels

Product Description A beautifully produced literary art book that restores a collection of drawings and pastels to the heart of the life story of one of the great artists of the 19th century Edgar Degas was described as 'the most intelligent, the most demanding, the most merciless draughtsman in the world' by the poet and critic Paul Valery and today Degas is considered one of the outstanding draughtsman of the late nineteenth century. His powerful drawings and the pastles, which he himself characterized as 'orgies of colour', are some of the most compelling works in western art. Drawing was not only the central tenet of Degas's art but also virtually a daily activity. Through an examination of the artist's drawings and pastels, which exist in great number and variety, Christopher Lloyd examines the development of Degas's style and outlines the story of his life in the contexts of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Following a broadly chronological approach, Lloyd discusses the wide range of Degas's work: the images of ballet dancers (which form over half of the artist's oeuvre), jockeys, laundresses, milliners and female nudes, as well as the less well-known landscape drawings. With over 200 illustrations that capture the most fleeting of subtleties and shades, this book provides a comprehensive and engaging account of the artist as draughtsman. Table of Contents Introduction • 1. Beginnings 1853–1855 • 2. Italy 1856–1859 • 3. History Paintings 1860–1865 • 4. Changing Directions 1865–1870 • 5. Confronting the Modern World 1870–1879 • 6. Retreat into the Studio 1880–1890 • 7. Landscape Drawings • 8. ‘The Dying of the Light’ 1890–c. 1912 Review Christopher Lloyd's book delights and is terrific value--Mature Times This book contributes an accessible, richly illustrated introduction to the subject--Library Journal A historic as well as critical study that is comprehensively and excellently illustrated --The Artist -Comprehensive but compact enough to read in bed, this superbly illustrated account encompasses the range of works on paper by the artist who was the 19th century's greatest draughtsman, equal to the Old Masters. --Financial Times Edgar Degas: Drawings and Pastels is a thoroughly readable narrative history of an artist and his most essential technique as it developed within the contingencies of modern French society. --H-France Review From the Back Cover ?Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was one of the outstanding draughtsmen of the 19th century: drawing was not only a central tenet of his art, but essential to his existence. Through an examination of the artist’s drawings and pastels, Christopher Lloyd reveals the development of Degas’s style as well the story of his life, including his complicated relationship with the Impressionists. Following a broadly chronological approach, the author discusses the various subject areas, not only the images of dancers (which form over half of Degas’s total oeuvre) but also of nudes and milliners, and the less well-known racehorse and landscape drawings. He covers his whole career, from when Degas was copying the Old Masters to learn his craft to when he ceased work in 1912 because of failing eyesight, setting him within the artistic context of the period. Lloyd’s extensive research, which includes consulting the artist’s detailed notebooks, has resulted in a comprehensive exposition with, at its heart, some 250 pencil, black-chalk, pen-and-ink, and charcoal drawings and pastels of timeless appeal. About the Author Christopher Lloyd was surveyor of The Queen s Pictures in the British Royal Collection from 1988 to 2005. He has curated numerous exhibitions worldwide, including "Impressionism: Pastels, Watercolors, Drawings" at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Albertina in Vienna (201112). He has published extensively on Western Art and is the author of "In Search of a Masterpiece: An Art Lover s Guide to Great Britain & Ireland" (Thames & Hudson, 2011)."