Edgar DegasFrench, 1834–1917Achille De Gas
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Achille De Gas” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Edgar Degas often used his family and friends as models. Here, his younger brother Achille poses as a dapper flâneur, a fixture of Parisian society who watches the urban spectacle with an air of boredom and ironic detachment. Achille himself was something of a pretentious do-nothing, frequently running up debts and engaging in scandalous behavior. (He shot and wounded the husband of a former lover in front of the Paris stock exchange.)
Degas portrays Achille leaning on an umbrella, twisting his hip and pushing his chest forward to emphasize the studied nonchalance of his half-buttoned coat. The sketch is a study for the male spectator in the foreground of the painting At the Races. With eyes downcast and striking a self-consciously debonair pose, the fellow is clearly more interested in being seen than in the action behind him.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 61.36.8
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
In the life of Edgar Degas
The whole lifelate 1860s
The turn to modern life: racecourses, milliners, laundresses
By the late 1860s Degas had moved from history painting to an original observation of contemporary life: racecourse scenes let him paint horses and riders in a modern setting, and then he turned to women at work — milliners and laundresses.
1870
A volunteer in the war; a flaw in his eyesight
When the Franco-Prussian War broke out Degas volunteered; at the first shooting practice it turned out that he saw poorly with his right eye. It was the first sign of the macular degeneration that left him almost blind at the end of his life; he was transferred to the artillery and served there to the end of the war.
early 1870s
Meets Durand-Ruel
Degas met the dealer Durand-Ruel, later the most prominent of the trusted dealers with whom he planned his strategy at auctions.
October 1872 – March 1873 · Residence
New Orleans
1873–1874
His brother's debts: he sells his house and collection
After his father's death Degas learned that his brother René had run up enormous business debts. To save the family's reputation he sold his house and an inherited art collection and for the first time in his life depended on sales of his own work.
1874
The first Impressionist exhibition
Disenchanted with the Salon, Degas joined a group of young artists organizing an independent exhibiting society. He took a leading role in organizing the eight shows of 1874–1886 and exhibited in all but one, despite constant conflicts with the group.
