\ATXts240\sb0\sa0 \b0 Germain Edgar de Gas known\up0 as Degas was born to a family
of wealthy bankers in Paris in 1834. After a sound classical education, he decided to become a painter and began to produce works in the tradition of Ingres, whom he admired. Later, however, he rejected the classical subjects (drawn from history or myth
ology) of official painting and took an interest in new ones like racecourses, the theater and opera, workshops, cafes, and brothels. A friend of the impressionists, he shared their taste for nature and visual themes. An often cruel observer of his time,
he experimented with a daring approach to framing and visual planes and often made use of violent colors. Yet he was also a delicate pastelist and talented sculptor. On his death in 1917, he left behind a catalogue of over 2000 works.\par
