Frammenti di luce e di colore Una finestra sull'Impressionismo | Page 74

enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts. He
began to explore different ways of pain-
ting than the Salon’s and joined the new
Impressionists group, organizing with
them their first exhibition. He had litt-
le in common with Monet and the other
landscape painters in the group, whom
he mocked for painting outdoors. In 1875
he travelled to Italy. In the late 1880s, De-
gas also developed a passion for photo-
graphy. He photographed many of his
friends, for example Renoir. The other
photographs were used for reference in
some of Degas’ drawings and paintings
(the nudes and the dancers). He travelled
to Spain and Morocco. In the meanwhile,
he drew with pastels and made sculptu-
res. In this period he used to collect ar-
tworks, too. He never married and spent
the last years of his life retired, nearly
blind, before dying in September 1917.
theatre scenes (he had a musician friend
who worked at the Opéra). In 1969 he tra-
velled to Belgium. In 1870 he enlisted in
the army. During the Paris Commune, he
stayed in Normandy with friends, and
found out he had an eye disease. After
the war, he visited some relatives in New
Orleans. Degas returned to Paris in 1873
and his father died the following year, he
learned that his brother René had a lot
of debts, too. To give economic assistance
to his family, Degas turned his passion
for painting into a job, his greatest works
come from this period. He left Law and
enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts. He
began to explore different ways of pain-
ting than the Salon’s and joined the new
Impressionists group, organizing with
them their first exhibition. He had litt-
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