The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston Exhibits Edgar Degas' Nudes

Written by Amelie Weatherspoon Tuesday, 15 May 2012 23:24

Boston, Massachusetts.- The first museum exhibition devoted exclusively to the extraordinary range of nudes by Edgar Degas — tracing their evolution from the artist’s early years, through the private and public images of brothels and bathers in the 1870s and 1880s, to the post-Impressionist nudes of the end of his career—will be presented by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. "Degas and the Nude", on view from October 9th through February 5th 2012, at the MFA, will offer a groundbreaking examination of Degas’s concept of the human body during the course of 50 years by showing his work within the broader context of his forebears, contemporaries, and followers in 19th century France, among them Ingres, Eugène Delacroix, Mary Cassatt, Gustave Caillebotte, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso.

Assembled from the collections of more than 50 lenders from around the world are approximately 165  works—145 by Degas—including paintings, pastels, drawings, monotypes, etchings, lithographs, and sculptures, many of which have never been on view in the United States. After its debut in the MFA’s Ann and Graham Gund Gallery—its only US venue—Degas and the Nude will be shown at the Musée d’Orsay from March 12th through July 1st 2012.


The 19th century French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917), a founding member of the Impressionist group who gravitated toward realism, is acclaimed for his mastery of a wide range of genres, which he executed in all media using a variety of techniques.  In addition to his famous depictions of ballet dancers or racing subjects, Degas’s work also included history paintings, portraits, landscapes, and scenes of urban leisure.  This exhibition, however, will focus entirely on his nudes, illustrating the transformation of Degas’s treatment of the human form throughout half a century—from early life drawings in the 1850s, to overtly sexual imagery, to gritty realist nudes, and beyond to the lyrical and dynamic bodies of the last decade of his working life when the theme dominated his artistic production in all media. "Degas and the Nude" draws from some of the finest collections in the world. In addition to the MFA and Musée d’Orsay—the single largest lender, with more than 60 works—these include the National Gallery and Courtauld Gallery, London; the Musée Andre Malraux, Le Havre; museums and private collections in Germany, Japan, and Switzerland; as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among many other museums and private collections in North America.

The exhibition will feature such masterpieces as "Young Spartans Exercising" and "Scene of War in the Middle Ages", two of Degas’s greatest history paintings; and "The Tub", a pastel completed at the height of his career and presented at the last Impressionist exhibition in 1886.  It will also offer context to this exploration of the artist’s nudes by juxtaposing his works with those created by major artists who influenced—or were influenced by—Degas, including Ingres’s "Angelica Saved by Ruggiero", Caillebotte’s "Man at his Bath" and Picasso’s "Nude on a Red Background".


The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), is recognized for the quality and scope of its encyclopedic collection, which includes an estimated 450,000 objects.  The Museum’s collection is made up of: Art of the Americas; Art of Europe; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Art of the Ancient World; Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; Textile and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments. The original MFA opened its doors to the public on July 4, 1876, the nation's centennial. Built in Copley Square, the MFA was then home to 5,600 works of art. Over the next several years, the collection and number of visitors grew exponentially, and in 1909 the Museum moved to its current home on Huntington Avenue. Today the MFA is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world; the collection encompasses nearly 450,000 works of art. We welcome more than one million visitors each year to experience art from ancient Egyptian to contemporary, special exhibitions, and innovative educational programs. November 2010 marked the opening of The New MFA. Designed by the world-renowned Foster and Partners architects, The New MFA comprises a new wing for Art of the Americas; renovated art of Europe galleries; improved conservation and education facilities; The Linde Family Wing devoted entirely to contemporary art; and a new, larger public space—the Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard. Established in 1876, The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is one of the oldest and most distinguished art schools in the United States. Through an affiliation with Tufts University established in 1945, the SMFA offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs, providing students with a full range of academic resources. Some highlights of the MFA's collection include, Egyptian artifacts, a major collections of French impressionist and post-impressionist works including Paul Gauguin's "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" as well as works by Édouard Manet, Renoir, Degas, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and many others. The 18th and 19th century American art collection includes many works by John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. Visit  the museum's website at ... www.mfa.org

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