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Edgar Degas

66 quotes

“I am busy on a portrait of my self and my aunt and my two cousins, I will show it to you when you get back. I am doing it as if I were doing a picture. I've got to do it well, because I want to leave it as a memento.... The older one is really a lovely thing, the younger one has the devil in her as well as the kindness of an angel. I am doing them with their black dresses and little white pinafores which suit them delightfully. I have ideas for the picture's background running through my head. I would like a certain gracefulness with a nobleness of feeling that I don't know how to describe.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in a letter (27 November, 1858) to Degas' friend and painter Gustave Moreau; as quoted in More unpublished Letters of Degas, Theodore Reff, Art Bulletin LI, No. 3., Sept. 1969, pp. 282-283
“Boredom soon overcomes me when I am contemplating nature.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notebook entry (1858), The Notebooks of Edgar Degas, ed. Theodore Reff (1976)
“It seems to me that today, if the artist wishes to be serious — to cut out a little original niche for himself, or at least preserve his own innocence of personality — he must once more sink himself in solitude. There is too much talk and gossip; pictures are apparently made, like stock-market prices, by competition of people eager for profit; in order to do anything at all we need (so to speak) the wit and ideas of our neighbors as much as the businessmen need the funds of others to win on the market. All this traffic sharpens our intelligence and falsifies our judgment.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from Degas' Notebook entry c. 1860's; as quoted in Artists on Art: From the XIV to the XX Century, ed. Robert Goldwater (Pantheon, 1945)
“Make portraits of people in familiar and typical positions, above all give their faces the same choice of expression one gives their bodies. Thus if laughter is typical for a person, make him laugh – there are, naturally, feelings that one cannot render…”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from Degas' Notebook of 1869; as quoted in Impressionism and Post Impressionism 1874 – 1904, 'Sources and Documents', Linda Nochlin, Englewood Cliffs, New Yersey, 1966, p. 62
“villas with columns in different styles [in Louisiana, America] painted white, in gardens of magnolias, orange trees, banana trees, negroes in old clothes like characters from La Belle Jardiniere.. ..rosy white children in black [negro] arms.. ..a brilliant light which streams my eyes.. ..the Negresses of all shades, holding in their arms little white babies, so white, against white houses with columns of fluted wood and in gardens of orange trees. [quote on his journey through America during 1872]”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from his letter, Louisiana, America 1872; as cited in The private lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe, Harpen Collins Publishers, New York 2006, p. 113-114
“ladies in muslin draped on porches at the fronts of their little houses.. ..shops bursting with fruit, and the contrast between the lively hum and the bustle of the offices with the immense black animal force.. .The black world I have not the time to explore; there are some real gifts of colour and drawing in these forests of ebony. It will seem amazing to live among white people when I get back to Paris. I love silhouettes so much, and these silhouettes walk. [quote on his journey through America during 1872]”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in Degas' letter to his friend Tissot, Louisiana, America 1872; as cited in The private lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe, Harpen Collins Publishers, New York 2006, p. 113-114
“We also consider that Miss Berthe Morisot's [woman painter in French Impressionism who got later married with a brother of Eduard Manet] name and talent are too important to us to do without. [Degas is referring to her participation in the first Impressionist's show he was preparing, then; he was in strong opposition to Eduard Manet who wanted to exclude Berthe Morisot)”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1873 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from Degas' letter to Cornelie Morisot (mother of Berthe Morisot), Spring 1873; as cited in The private lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe, Harpen Collins Publishers, New York 2006, p. 119
“J'ai vraiment, un vrai bagage dans la tête. S'il y avait pour cela, comme il y a partout ici, des compagnies d'assurance, voilà un ballot je ferais assurer de suite.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1873 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from a letter to James Tissot, (New Orleans, 1873), as cited in Marilyn Brown, Degas and the Business of Art: A Cotton Office in New Orleans (Penn State Press, 1994)
“I put it [a still life of a pear, made by Manet there [on the wall, next to Ingres' painting 'Jupiter'], for a pear like that would overthrow any god.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1875 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: remark in a conversation with the writer Moore, ca. 1875; as quoted in The private lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe, Harpen Collins Publishers, New York 2006, p. 117
“Your pictures would have been finished a long time ago if I were not forced every day to do something to earn money.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in a letter of Degas to Jean-Baptiste Faure, 14 March 1877
“He [ Corot ] is always the strongest, he has foreseen everything.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Degas in 1883, as quoted by Colin B. Bailey, in The Annenberg Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism, publish. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2009, p. 2
“It is all well and good to copy what one sees, but it is much better to draw only what remains in one's memory. This is a transformation in which imagination and memory collaborate.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Degas in 1883, as cited by Colin B. Bailey, in The Annenberg Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism, publish. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2009, p. 30 note 10
“I always urged my contemporaries to look for interest and inspiration to the development and study of drawing, but they would not listen. They thought the road to salvation lay by the way of colour.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1914 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Degas, as cited by Walter Sickert, in 'Post-Impressionism and Cubism', Pall Mall Gazette (1914-03-11).
“Apart from my heart, I feel everything grows old in me. Even my heart has something artificial. It has been sewn by the dancers in a soft, pink satin purse like their shoes.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1886 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in Degas' letter to the sculptor Paul-Albert Bartolomé, January 1886; as cited in 'Performing Fine Arts: Dance as a Source of Inspiration in Impressionism, by Johannis Tsoumas
“I believe Corot painted a tree better that any of us, but still I find him superior in his figures.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Degas in 1883, as quoted by Colin B. Bailey, in The Annenberg Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism, publish. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2009, p. 4
“An artist is a deception.. ..an artist is only an artist at certain times, by an effort of will.. ..the study of nature is a cliché; isn't Manet the living proof? For although he prided himself on slavishly copying nature, he was the most inadequate painter in the world, not making a single brushstroke without reference to the old masters; for instance, he refrained from drawing fingernails because Frans Hals did not draw them.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1880 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Degas, in his talk with the visiting Mallarmé, 1880's; as cited in Berthe Morisot, the first lady of Impressionism, by Margaret Sehnan; Sutton Publishing (ISBN 0 7509 2339 3), 1996, p. 234
“À vous il faut la vie naturelle, à moi la vie factice.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1891 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Degas, quoted by George Moore, Impressions and Opinions (1891)
“I assure you no art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and study of the great masters; of inspiration, spontaneity, temperament — temperament is the word — I know nothing.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1891 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Degas in conversation with George Moore, later quoted by Moore in Impressions and Opinions (1891)
“Hitherto the nude has always been represented in poses which presuppose an audience; but these women of mine are honest, simple folk, unconcerned by any other interests than those involved in their physical condition. Here is another; she is washing her feet. It is as if you looked through a key-hole.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1891 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by George Moore, in Impressions and Opinions (1891)
“What a delightful thing is the conversation of specialists! One understands absolutely nothing and it's charming.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Degas' letter to Daniel Halévy, 31 Jan 1892, from Degas Letters, ed. Marcel Guerin, trans. Marguerite Kay (1947)
“You must aim high, not in what you are going to do at some future date, but in what you are going to make yourself do to-day. Otherwise, working is just a waste of time.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: a remark to E. Rouart [son of Henri Rouart in 1904; as quoted in Renoir – his life and work, Francois Fosca, Book Club Associates /Thames and Hudson Ltd, London 1975, p. 274
“Comme nous avons mal fait de nous laisser appeler Impressionistes.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1911 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by Walter Sickert in 'Post-Impressionists,' Fortnightly Review (January 1911)
“Certainly, Vollard, but listen: will you have a special dish without butter prepared for me? Mind you, no flowers on the table, and you must have dinner at half past seven sharp. I know you won't have your cat around and please don't allow anybody to bring a dog. And if there are to be any women I hope they won't come reeking of perfume. How horrible all those odors are when there are so many things that really smell good, like toast - or even manure! Ah - (a short hesitation), and very few lights. My eyes, you know, my poor eyes!”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Vollard, please do not say anything against fashions. Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if there were no fashions? How would women spent their time? What would they have to talk about? Life would become unbearable for us men. Why, if women were to break away from the rules of fashion - fortunately there is no danger - the government would have to step in and take a hand.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I remember a story my father used to tell. As he was coming home one day, he ran across a group of men who were firing on the troops from an ambush. During the excitement a daring onlooker went up to one of the snipers who seemed to be a poor marksman. He took the man's gun and brought down a soldier, then handed it back to its owner who motioned as if to say, 'No, go on. You're a better shot than I am.' But the stranger said, 'No, I'm not interested in politics.'”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) first seen 1847 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vollard, Degas and others were talking about the revolution of 1847. Somebody remarked to Degas that he must have been quite young at that time. Than Degas start to quote his father.
“Visitor: Monsieur Degas, were there any of Monet's pictures at the Durand-Ruel exhibition? Degas: Why, I met Monet himself there, and I said to him, 'Let me get out of here. Those reflections in the water hurt my eyes!' His pictures were always too draughty for me. If it had been any worse I should have had to turn up my coat collar.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Another Visitor: How did you manage, Monsieur Degas, when you painted that plein air called 'Le Plage', the one Monsieur Rouart has? Degas: It was quite simple. I spread my flannel vest on the floor of the studio, and had the model sit on it. You see, the air you breathe in a picture is not necessarily the same as the air out of doors.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poor Gauguin, 'way off there on his island! I'll wager he spends most of his time thinking of Rue Lafitte. I advised him to go to New Orleans, but he decided it was too civilized. He had to have people around him with flowers on their heads and rings in their noses before he could feel at home. Now if I should leave my house for more than two days...”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I were the government I would have a special brigade of gendarmes to keep an eye on artists who paint landscapes from nature. Oh, I don't mean to kill anyone; just a little dose of bird-shot now and then as a warning.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I, marry? Oh, I could never bring myself to do it. I would have been in mortal misery all my life for fear my wife might say, "That's a pretty little thing," after I had finished a picture.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm glad to say I haven't found my style yet. I'd be bored to death.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People call me the painter of dancing girls. It has never occurred to them that my chief interest in dancers lies in rendering movement and painting pretty clothes.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Il faut avoir une haute idée, non pas de ce qu'on fait, mais de ce qu'on pourra faire un jour; sans quoi ce n'est pas la peine de travailler.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Le dessin n'est pas la forme, il est la manière de voir la forme.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man is an artist only at certain moments, by an effort of will. Objects have the same appearance for everybody.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The study of nature is of no significance, for painting is a conventional art, and it is infinitely more worthwhile to learn to draw after w:Holbein.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from History of Impressionism, Rev. ed. John Rewald, Museum of Modern Art, 1961, p. 89
“The museums are here to teach the history of art and something more as well, for, if they stimulate in the weak a desire to imitate, they furnish the strong with the means of their emancipation.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime. Make it untrue and add an accent of truth.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is vice. You don't marry it legitimately, you rape it.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even working from nature you have to compose.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Drawing is not what you see but what you must make others see.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Make a drawing. Start it all over again, trace it. Start it and trace it again.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You must do over the same subject ten times, a hundred times. In art nothing must appear accidental, even a movement.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Work a great deal at evening effects, lamplight, candlelight, etc. The intriguing thing is not to show the source of the light but the effect of the lighting.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Painting is not very difficult when you don't know how; but when you know, oh! then, it's another matter.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It requires courage to make a frontal attack on nature through the broad planes and the large lines and it is cowardly to do it by the facets and details. It is a battle.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everybody has talent at twenty-five. The difficult thing is to have it at fifty.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Je n'admets pas qu'une femme puisse dessiner comme ca.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Forbes Watson, Mary Cassatt (1932)
“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people.”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: quote from Georges Jeanniot, in Souvenirs sur Degas (Memories of Degas, 1933)
“In our beginnings, Fantin, Whistler and I were all on the same road, the road from Holland [Dutch 17th century painters]”
Edgar Degas (1834–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Degas, later recalled by Paul Poujaud (written in his letter to Marcel Guérin, 11 July 1936); as quoted by Colin B. Bailey, in The Annenberg Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism, pub…