Edgar Degas, The Private Impressionist
Works on Paper by the Artist and his Circle
from the Collection of Robert Flynn Johnson
The great French artist, Edgar Degas (1834-1917) once said, “I wish to be illustrious and unknown.” To a great extent, his wish has been granted. By the time of his death over ninety years ago, his art had become famous; his reputation since has only grown. Yet the individual who was so very accomplished in so many artistic endeavors--from drawing, painting, and printmaking to sculpture and photography--has remained elusive.
Unjustly labeled a misogynist because of his frank depiction of women, and a cynic because of his reputation for biting wit, Degas was, rather, arguably the greatest artistic observer of human nature since Rembrandt.
Although often aloof to strangers, Degas elicited great reciprocal warmth and loyalty from his family, as well as from a wide circle of friends that included some of the greatest writers and artists of the epoch. The works by Degas in this exhibition consist of twenty drawings, thirteen prints, eight photographs, three monotypes, one sculpture, and a letter, all from a single private collection. In its special focus, the collection endeavors to illuminate the background, personality, and uniqueness of Edgar Degas the man, as well as to present his genius as an artist.
The subject matter of these works by Degas is often quite personal in nature. In addition to three self-portraits, there are depictions of his father, his brother Achille, an Italian niece, his loyal housekeeper Sabine Neyt, the wife of a patron, Madame Ernest May, three portraits of artist Edouard Manet, and two portraits of Mary Cassatt, as well as drawings after antique sculpture and old masters such as Mantegna and Michelangelo. There are prints and drawings that touch upon the three great themes of his art: the human body, horseracing, and the ballet. Also included is a group of brilliant color aquatints after Degas monotypes by the artist Maurice Potin, commissioned shortly after the artist’s death by the owner of the original monotypes, Degas’ friend and dealer, Ambroise Vollard.
A select group of more than 20 rare works of art on paper enriches the exhibition. These are by artists whose friendship Degas shared, including Giovanni Boldini, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Marcellin Desboutin, Hippolyte Flandrin, Jean-Leon Gerome, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, Alphonse Legros, Adolph von Menzel, Gustave Moreau, Henri Regnault, William Rothenstein, Alfred Stevens, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Joseph Gabriel Tourny, and several drawings by Pierre-Georges Jeanniot, one of Degas’ closest friends during the last decades of his career. The group of Jeanniot drawings comprises portraits of the sculptor, Albert Bartholomé, Degas’ younger disciple Jean-Louis Forain, three self-portraits, and two exceedingly rare portraits of Degas himself, famous for his reticence to pose.
The compelling works in this private collection have never before been exhibited together publicly, and will provide an insightful exploration into the art and personality of one of the most skilled, intelligent, and complex artists in the history of art.
The exhibition is curated by Louise Siddons, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Art History and Curator at OklahomaStateUniversity, Stillwater, OK, who will provide the exhibition essay and detailed labels for the works. Ms. Siddons was previously Visiting Assistant Professor and Adjunct Curator at Michigan State University (2007-2009); and earlier, Assistant Curator at the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Ann Dumas, Curator of The Royal Academy, London, will provide a preface to the exhibition. Ms. Dumas, a respected scholar of Impressionism, has curated numerous exhibitions, including the forthcoming exhibition, Degas Dancers: Eye and Camera, presentingDegas’ dancers in the context of contemporary photography and film.
The exhibition features a foreword by Robert Flynn Johnson, Curator Emeritus, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Mr. Johnson will discuss his admiration for Edgar Degas and his circle, and his forty year pursuit of their works as a collector.
A full color, fully illustrated catalogue of the exhibition will be published.
The exhibition will premiere at the Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL in October 2011. It will then travel to the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME, in February, 2012.
The exhibition is organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA, in association with Denenberg Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA.