Edgar Degas (1834–1917)

This book is a real gem -- not only are the images fascinating, but the essays (most of them really, really short -- and even the shortest ones have good notes and references, etc so you can easily follow up in greater depth if you want to) are, to my mind, across the board excellent. The material does indeed present a "strange" and "new" side to Degas -- at least if you think of him solely as a painter and pastel artist, somewhat aligned with the French Impressionists, who did loads of fetching images of dancers in tutus. This book focuses on Degas' work in monotype, a printing technique which had been around since the early 17th century. What Degas did with this process is totally fascinating. As a person Degas was or at least became somewhat repellent, but as an artist he was relentlessly and restlessly probing, searching, finding new things. To me this book is a model of what an 'art book' should be.… (meer)