The Private Collection of Edgar Degas : A Summary Catalogue - Hardcover

Ives, Colta, Et Al. (Compiled By)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0870998374 ISBN 13: 9780870998379

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art; Bulfinch Press, 1997

Synopsis

When French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas died in 1917, his vast private collection of over 5,000 paintings and prints came to light, containing works by Manet, Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, and Cassatt. The collection is reconstructed here for the first time in this absorbing book, along with 11 essays about Degas and his times. 250 illustrations, 200 in full color.

About this title

Review:

When Edgar Degas died in 1917, his heirs found crate after crate gathering dust in the rented rooms inhabited by the isolated old artist. The opened containers revealed one of the greatest personal art collections of all time: There were paintings, drawings, and prints by El Greco, Ingres, Delacroix, Daumier, Cassatt, Manet, van Gogh, Cézanne, and Degas himself, including the famous Bellelli Family, a work from his youth that Degas could never bear to part with. When his heirs auctioned off the collection in 1918, governments granted national museums special funds to make purchases, even though it was the height of World War I and money was tight. The museums, it turned out, were also aided by the war--on the day of the sale, cannon fire sent most bidders running for cover. The ones who remained got bargain prices. This gorgeous book is filled with color plates of many of the paintings, and its 14 thoughtful essays are invaluable to comprehending the tastes of a single artist, one with the eye and the wherewithal to put together such an amazing collection.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art; Bulfinch Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0870998374
• ISBN 13: 9780870998379
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 142