What Degas Saw

K-Gr 3—Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was born, raised, and educated in Paris and as an artist exhibited there as well. The city and its bustling avenues, milliner shops and laundries, Opera House, and other sites were his inspiration and the people who lived and worked there, his subjects. Friedman's simple text relates how Degas, one of the founding members of impressionism, liked to travel about the city in a cape and top hat, with a cane in hand, observing and translating what he saw into art. The brief text also works in a few personal details, such as the location of his studio, and describes the man's early artistic style. Pieropan's expansive prints, which illustrate the story, often adopt the shallow, stagelike settings and the unusual perspectives of Degas's art. They alternate with full-page, quality reproductions of the master's work in several mediums, from his monotypes of men and women living and working in Paris to pastels of ballerinas—onstage and offstage. An author's note provides additional biographical information on the artist and details on the reproductions.