Where did edgar degas live

Edgar Degas is known mainly as a figure artist, but he also painted some landscapes. In , a trip to the seaport of Boulogne, in northern France, inspired Degas to create over forty images of the seashore and sand dunes. These calm, empty scenes look very different from his lively ballet and racetrack paintings. Most artists think of pastels as good for sketching, but Degas used them for finished works as well.

Beside the Sea is considered finished because he signed it. He became so skilled with pastels that eventually this became his favorite medium, or art-making material.

What was edgar degas known for

Because pastels dry fairly quickly, he could instantly add more color to his compositions. Today Degas is still regarded as the most important pastel painter. Although a box of pastels is portable, Degas may not have painted this scene while looking at it. He preferred to work in his studio. Unlike many of his fellow Impressionist artists, he rarely painted outdoors.

Partly this was because of vision problems, which began when he was in his thirties. He found bright lights unbearable and dreaded being out in the sun. Claude Monet, another Impressionist artist, believed in painting his landscapes outdoors en plein air, in French. In the Longchamps racetrack opened at the Bois de Boulogne, a popular park in Paris.

Horse racing was very fashionable among the elite, especially men.