Edgar Degas was born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on July 19, 1834, in Paris, France. He was the eldest of five children born to Augustin De Gas, a wealthy banker, and Célestine Musson, a Creole woman from New Orleans. Growing up in a cultured, upper-class household, young Edgar received a classical education at the prestigious Lycée Louis-le-Grand. From an early age, he displayed a precocious talent for drawing, filling countless notebooks with sketches of family members, friends, and scenes from everyday life.


In 1853, at the age of 18, Degas graduated from the lycée and briefly attended the University of Paris, where he studied law to appease his father. However, his true passion lay in art, and in 1855, he gained admission to the esteemed École des Beaux-Arts. There, he received rigorous training in the academic tradition, copying masterpieces at the Louvre and honing his skills in drawing and painting.


After completing his studies, Degas embarked on a three-year sojourn to Italy, where he immersed himself in the art of the Renaissance masters. He spent countless hours in museums and churches, copying the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, absorbing their mastery of form, composition, and color. This classical foundation would remain a touchstone throughout his career, even as he pushed the boundaries of artistic convention.


Upon returning to Paris in 1859, Degas set up a studio and began to establish himself as a professional artist. His early works, such as "The Bellelli Family" (1858-67) and "Portrait of Edmund Bellelli" (1862), showcase his virtuosic command of line and form, as well as his keen eye for psychological nuance.


In the 1860s, Degas formed close friendships with a group of avant-garde artists, including Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet, who would later become known as the Impressionists. Although he shared their desire to break free from the strictures of academic painting, Degas never fully embraced their emphasis on plein-air painting and the capturing of fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Instead, he remained committed to working in the studio, meticulously constructing his compositions from a synthesis of observation, memory, and imagination.


In 1873, Degas made his first foray into the world of ballet, a subject that would become a lifelong obsession. He began frequenting the Paris Opéra, where he sketched the dancers from every angle, both on stage and behind the scenes. Paintings like "The Dance Class" (1873-76) and "Rehearsal of the Ballet on Stage" (1874) offer an intimate glimpse into the rigorous training and discipline required of these young performers.


Degas' ballet scenes marked a radical departure from the idealized, sentimental depictions of dancers that were then in vogue. Instead of pretty, doll-like figures, he portrayed his subjects as real women, with aching muscles, sweat-soaked leotards, and unglamorous, workaday expressions. This unflinching realism, combined with his daring compositional innovations - asymmetrical framing, abrupt cropping, and vertiginous perspectives - positioned Degas at the forefront of the nascent Impressionist movement.


In 1874, Degas joined forces with Monet, Renoir, and others to mount the first Impressionist exhibition, a watershed moment in the history of modern art. Although the show was widely ridiculed by critics and the public alike, it marked the beginning of a new era in which artists would increasingly challenge the prevailing norms of subject matter, style, and technique.


Over the next decade, Degas continued to participate in the Impressionist exhibitions, showcasing his ever-evolving vision of modern life. In paintings like "The Absinthe Drinker" (1875-76) and "In a Café (The Absinthe)" (1873), he offered a raw, unvarnished look at the seedy underbelly of Parisian...