Even friends were wary of Edgar Degas, as if approaching a cage with a venomous snake whose bite was deadly-precise wit. "The most witty misanthrope," as contemporaries called him, was truly a unique figure in the art world.
"Ballet is Just an Excuse!"
Like a hawk circling over prey, Degas looked in ballet classrooms not for grace and lightness, but for the anatomy of movement, the elusive mechanics of the body. "It's simply an excuse to paint dresses!" he would cynically say, hiding behind a mask of disdain his obsession with capturing the fleeting, ephemeral nature of passing beauty.
Attitude Toward Photography
In an age when photography was triumphant, Degas remained faithful to brush and canvas, seeing in the fashionable invention only a soulless copy. "Painting is not a protocol, it's poetry!" he proclaimed, defending the artist's right to interpretation.
Degas and Friendship
A lone wolf, Degas avoided noisy companies. "In friendship there's always subtext, calculation, a deal!" he would grumble. However, his rare but strong attachments testified to a hidden need for human warmth.
The Witty Artist
A bright example of his wit was the friendship (and rivalry) with James Whistler. When Whistler appeared in a Parisian café in full regalia, Degas exclaimed: "Whistler, you are missing your muff!"
A Genius Avoiding Fame
Degas dreamed of recognition but at the same time sought to remain in the shadows. He categorically refused to let journalists through his door. Once, when the English writer George Moore decided to write about Degas, the artist was indignant: "Leave me alone! Have you come to count the shirts in my wardrobe?"