Exhibition on Screen: "Degas: Passion for Perfection"
With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this fascinating story depicts Degas’s pursuit for perfection through both experimentation and studying the past masters.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas
From the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the extensive collection of Degas’s works showcased in this documentary is the most representative in Britain. With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this film tells a fascinating story of Degas’s pursuit for perfection through both experimentation with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying the past masters.
Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eyesight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in each mark he made. As he was never fully satisfied, many of Degas’s drawings and sculptures were kept in private during his lifetime, but now through close examination they can be seen as some of the most beautifully detailed and expressive works in his era. Using for narration accounts written by friends and commentators and letters written by Degas himself, this film reveals a more complex truth behind one of the most influential French artists of the late 19th-century and serves as an exploration of the complex workings of Degas’s artistic mind. Runtime: 1h25m
