The Ballet from "Robert le Diable"

late 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.

late 1860s

Begins modelling in wax

Degas modelled small wax figures of dancers, bathers and jockeys for himself, in place of studies. He never worked in bronze or stone; he valued wax for its changeability, and his sculptor friend Bartholomé encouraged him.

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.