Overview

Edgar Degas: The Painter of Dancers is the definitive picture-book biography of this artist. Meticulously researched and fully vetted by both the American Federation of Arts and the School of American Ballet, the text by Susan Goldman Rubin offers remarkable insight into the life of Degas, as well as the lives of the young dancers at the Paris Opera who Degas sketched and painted. Illustrated with more than thirty of Degas' original artworks in full color, and featuring a cover note from Peter Martins of the School of American Ballet, this biography of one of the world's greatest artists truly offers young readers an invitation to the dance.

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9780810905672

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Reviews

A gloriously illustrated volume appropriately emphasizes process in its examination of Degas's ballet paintings. [Degas] learned that ballet training was very much like studying art. It took hard work and hours and hours of practice. Degas drew the same poses again and again, just as the dancers repeated their positions and steps again and again. From this opening, Rubin (The Yellow House, 2001, etc.) proceeds to describe Degas's fascination with the discipline of the ballet and his determination to capture both the beauty and the work of the dance. The simple text draws on primary-source material, including Degas's own writings and those of his contemporaries and subjects, itself painting a portrait of an extraordinarily dedicated artist whose perfectionism led him to reclaim a gift made to a friend in order to tweak it. After ruining it and providing a different painting in apology, the friend reportedly chained the replacement to his wall. Such humanizing anecdotes accompany a host of thoroughly and thoughtfully captioned reproductions of his work; studies frequently appear next to the finished paintings to demonstrate his process. Degas's experiments with media are succinctly described and illustrated, as is the effect of his increasing blindness on his art. One small flaw is the narrative's assignment of Degas to the Impressionist school; many art historians place him, with his supremely humane depictions of weary dancers, in the school of Realism. The narrative's focus is exclusively on Degas's work with the dance; a biographical note (in forbiddingly dense type) follows, sketching out in more detail his full career. An author's note and bibliography (in equally forbidding tiny type) round out this altogether lovely offering. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10) (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Susan Goldman Rubin has written several books about artists for young people. Publishers Weekly called her book The Yellow House: Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side, an intriguing introduction to two esteemed painters. Her book Margaret Bourke-White was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Smithsonian Notable Book for Children. Ms. Rubin lives in Southern California. Peter Martins, distinguished ballet dancer, choreographer, and director, is Chairman of Faculty, School of American Ballet, and Ballet Master in Chief, New York City Ballet. The School of American Ballet, founded by legendary choreographer George Balanchine, is the premier ballet academy in the United States. It produces more professional ballet dancers than any other American school. The American Federation of Arts produces art exhibitions, publications, educational programs, and professional conferences to benefit the museum community. Established by an act of Congress in 1909, the AFA's mission is to enrich the public's experience and understanding of art.

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