Edgar Degas

"The great French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is best known for his images of Parisian life-for his superb renditions of cafe society, the ballet, and horse racing-and for his intimate interior scenes of bathing women. As this beautifully illustrated book reveals, however, he also maintained a lifelong interest in landscape subjects that until now has gone largely unrecognized. Despite taunting his friend Henri Rouart for "painting on the edge of a cliff," commenting "painting is not a sport," his love of this genre inspired him to create many paintings, pastels, and prints; it was, after all, the theme that the fifty-eight-year-old artist chose for his only solo show in France." "Edgar Degas: The Last Landscapes examines in detail this little-known aspect of Degas's work, focusing on his sensitive depictions of the scenery of northern France, and in particular the small coastal town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, which the artist had known since childhood. It analyzes Degas's energetic experimentation with both painting and print-making techniques, and, with the aid of his sketchbook drawings and accompanying notes, cogently reassesses the importance of landscape painting to