Edgar Degas was a founding member of the Impressionist movement, though he preferred the term 'Realist' and rarely painted outdoors. His subjects — ballet dancers, racehorses, café scenes, bathers — were chosen for their movement and modernity. He was fascinated by the human body in motion, using unusual viewpoints, cropped compositions, and asymmetric framing inspired by Japanese woodblock prints and photography. His sight began failing in his 40s, and by the end of his life he was nearly blind — yet his pastels of bathers from his final decades are among his most daring and beautiful works.
