U P D A T E D S Y L L A B U S. ARTH 585 Edgar Degas: Probing a Paradigm and Puzzle Fall 2006 Dr. Suzanne Glover Lindsay

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1 U P D A T E D S Y L L A B U S ARTH 585 Edgar Degas: Probing a Paradigm and Puzzle Fall 2006 Dr. Suzanne Glover Lindsay Class schedule: Wed. 3-5 pm Jaffe 113 Office Hours: Wed am; 1-2 pm. OFFICE: Jaffe 208 Tel sglindsay@aol.com COURSE DESCRIPTION The paintings, prints, and sculpture of Edgar Degas ( ) have been used to characterize Naturalism, Impressionism, and Symbolism, both during the artist s lifetime and later. The oddity and sophistication of his work and his penchant for privacy and prevarication nonetheless have made him especially difficult to define, despite his fame and the intense debate surrounding him even while alive. Both the man and his oeuvre became vital lightning rods for art-historical polemics and remain fertile subjects for ongoing study. This seminar investigates Degas from various perspectives in order to confront a complex artist and period; to consider the methodologies applied to Degas studies; and to develop research skills by working with primary sources (for example, nineteenth-century exhibition catalogues and letters). Field trips to examine works in nearby museum collections, both during class and on weekends, are essential. Background in art history is strongly advised. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Group discussions of readings; informal workshop: comparing notes on small research projects assigned by the instructor; 3 field trips; 4 page comparative formal analysis essay of a Degas and another work based on direct examination; a 20 minute oral presentation and final paper, 10 pages with endnotes, based on the talk. Readings All required readings are in English and on Reserve in the Fine Arts library.

2 SG Lindsay Syllabus: Page 2 Papers Formal-analysis essay due no later than Nov. 1; final research paper due no later than Dec. 20. COURSE SCHEDULE September Races. 6 Introduction. 13 Field trip: Philadelphia Museum of Art 19 th -c. European galleries: General issues. Meet in classroom [Jaffe 113] for transport. Readings: Kendall Dealing with Degas; Lewis Book Review: Boggs Degas at the 20 Overview of Degas life and career. Lecture and workshop. Readings: Druick and Zegers; Kendall Degas and the Market-Place... ; Lewis On Not Explaining Late Degas. Workshop: Looking Closely at a Hot Spot: Degas s Public Career (Exhibitions and Sales). [investigation of exhibition catalogues; documented Chronology of Degas life, etc.] 27 Art and Biography I. How has Degas artistic oddity been explained so far?: from Romantic paradigm (misfit) to psycho-biography (obsessive, ambiguous sexuality). Lecture and discussion of readings. Readings: Havemeyer; Lipton Introduction; Armstrong Introduction. October 4 Art and Biography II. A Constant Theme: Degas Views of Women: Was he a Misogynist? Lecture and workshop. Reading: Broude.. Workshop: Views of misogyny and sources on Degas attitude toward women (investigation of correspondence, memoirs, etc.) 11 The most hotly debated subject in Degas work: his Bathers. Lecture and discussion of readings Readings: Callen; Kendall Art of Renunciation; Lesser. 18 Famous pure art suddenly scrutinized for subject matter: Horses and Dancers. Lecture and discussion of readings. Readings: Jones; Lipton The Racing Paintings and At the Ballet; Muehlig; Reff Degas and the Dance.

3 SG Lindsay Syllabus: Page 3 November 25 The oddity of Degas pictures: How are they seen to work? Lecture and discussion of readings. Readings: Sidlauskas; Armstrong Reading the Work of Degas; Parry. WEEKEND FIELD TRIP: PMA. Specific picture looking based on lectures and readings. 1 Preliminary discussion of talk topics. FORMAL ANALYSIS ESSAY DUE 8 Degas and craft: Obsessive master, careless technician, or obsessive, incapable of closure? Lecture and discussion of readings. Readings: Reff The Artist as Technician; Bomford et al; Barbour and Sturman Degas wax statuette, Little DancerAged Fourteen: His most scandalous and elusive work. Readings: Druick; Shackelford; Callen. WEEKEND FIELD TRIP: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Close looking at his paintings and sculpture. 22 Thanksgiving Eve: Talks/Discussion or no class. 29 Student Talks/Discussion December 6 Student Talks/Discussion: Last class Dinner at Dr. Lindsay s Semester end FINAL PAPERS DUE

4 SG Lindsay Syllabus: Page 4 READINGS AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY Armstrong, Carol. Introduction; Reading the Work of Degas (excerpt: ]. Desk Pamphlet from her Odd Man Out: Readings of the Work and Reputation of Edgar Degas. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, Barbour, Daphne, and Sturman, Shelley. Degas the Sculptor: Innovative and Nontraditional. Desk Pamphlet from Joseph Czestochowski and Anne Pingeot Degas Sculptures (Memphis, 2002). Berson, Ruth. The New Painting: Impressionism. Documentation. 2 Vols. (Seattle, 1996). Boggs, Jean Sutherland, Degas at the Races (Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art) (Washington and New Haven, 1998). Bomford, David, Jo Kirby, and Ashok Roy. Degas at Work. Desk Pamphlet from Bomford et al, Art in the Making: Degas. Desk Pamphlet: excerpts from Art in the Making: Degas (Exh. cat., The National Gallery, London) (London: 2004]. Broude, Norma. Degas s Misogyny. Art Bulletin 54, 1 (March 1977): Callen, Anthea. Degas Bathers: Hygiene and Dirt Gaze and Touch. Desk pamphlet from Kendall and Pollock. Degas (Exh. cat., Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris et al) (New York and Ottawa, 1988). Degas: Lettres. Marcel Guérin, ed., (Paris, 1945 Degas Letters. Marcel Guérin, ed. Trans. Marguerite Kay (Oxford, 1947). DeVonyar, Jill, and Richard Kendall. Degas and the Dance (Exh. cat., American Federation of the Arts, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Philadelphia Museum of Art) (New York, 2003). Druick, Douglas W. Framing the Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Desk Pamphlet from Kendall Druick, Douglas W., and Peter Zegers. Scientific Realism Desk Pamphlet from 1988 Degas exh. cat. (see above). Havemeyer, Louisine. Degas. Desk Pamphlet: From Sixteen to Sixty: Memoirs of a Collector (New York, 1961), Jones, Kimberly. A Day at the Races: A Brief History of Horse Racing in France. Desk Pamphlet from Boggs. Kendall, Richard. Dealing with Degas. Desk Pamphlet: From Richard Kendall and Griselda Pollock, Dealing with Degas: Representations of Women and the Politics of Vision. London: Pandora Press, 1992, Kendall, Degas: Beyond Impressionism (Exh. cat., National Gallery et al) (Great Britain,1996) Kendall, Richard. Degas and the Market-Place: The Accessibility of the Late Work; Art of Renunciation; Drawing, Tracing and the Sequence. Desk Pamphlet from his Degas: Beyond Impressionism 1996.

5 SG Lindsay Syllabus: Page 5 Kendall, Richard. Degas and the Little Dancer (Exh. cat., Joslyn Art Museum et al) (New Haven, 1998). Kendall, Richard. Can Art Descend Lower? Desk Pamphlet from Kendall Lesser, Wendy. Degas s Nudes. Desk Pamphlet. From His Other Half: Men Looking at Women Through Art. Cambridge, MA., and London: Harvard University Press, Lewis, Adrian. On Not Explaining Late Degas [Book Review: Kendall, Degas: Beyond Impressionism ]. Desk Pamphlet: From Art History 20, 2 (June 1997): Lewis, Adrian. [Book Review]: Jean Sutherland Boggs et al. Degas at the Races. Desk Pamphlet: From Art Bulletin LXXXII, 2 (June 2000): Lipton, Eunice. Introduction; Chapter I: The Racing Paintings: A World of Privilege; Chapter II: At the Ballet: The Disintegration of Glamor; Desk Pamphlet from her Looking Into Degas Berkeley: University of California Press, Muehlig, Linda. Degas as an Observer of the Ballet. Desk Pamphlet from her Degas and the Dance (Exh. cat., Smith College Museum of Art, Parry, Eugenia. Edgar Degas s Photographic Theater. Desk Pamphlet from Malcolm Daniel, Edgar Degas, Photographer (Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art) (New York, 1998). Reff, Theodore. The Artist as Technician. Desk Pamphlet from Degas: The Artist s Mind..New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Reff, Theodore. Edgar Degas and the Dance. Desk Pamphlet from Artsmagazine 53, 3 (November 1978): Rouart, Denis-Hubbard, ed. Berthe Morisot: The Correspondence. Trans. Betty W. Hubbard. New introduction and notes by Kathleen Adler and Tamar Garb (Mt. Kisco or Devon, 1987). Shackelford, George. A Way of Seeing Form (excerpt). Desk Pamphlet from his Degas: The Dancers (Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art (Washington, 1984). Sidlauskas, Susan. Resisting Narrative: The Problem of Edgar Degas's Interior. Desk Pamphlet: Offprint? Vollard. Degas Good Nature. In Vollard, Degas: An Intimate Portrait (New York : Dover, c1986).