Catherine de Duve - The Little Degas: Go behind the scenes at the Opera

The Little Van Gogh

The Little Renoir

The Little Monet

The Little Degas

The Little Klimt

The Little Turner

The Little Bruegel

The Little Van Eyck

The Little Rubens

The Little Czanne

The Little Waterloo

Marie-Antoinette

A History of Belgium for children

Before you start reading, take a sheet of paper and several pencils.
You will need them to do the exercises.

Whenever you see this pencil, it is your turn to play!

The world is fascinated by a new invention! The first cameras start to appear. What a revolution! The visionary photographer Nadar took the first aerial photograph of Paris in 1858 from his hot air balloon 80 metres up in the air! The writer Jules Verne was influenced by this intrepid act, inspiring his heroic characters in the novel Five Weeks in a Balloon, which he wrote in 1862.

Nadar from Honore Daumier

A new fashion from England seizes Paris. Horse racing courses draw large crowds to the Longchamp race course. How exciting!

Novel by J. Verne

The English photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) studied the movements of men and animals. He made a photographic study of the movement of a horse, Daisys Gallop, and showed how a galloping horse, for a split second, does not touch the ground.

His trick? 24 cameras installed all along the racetrack. During the race, the horse severs the wire trigger mechanisms one by one, setting off the cameras and capturing its gallop in a series of photos.

Women never go out without a hat. They go to the milliner who provides them with their pretty bonnets. There are hats for all tastes and budgets! The men also dress in smart suits and elegant top hats that cover their heads. Madame! They tip their hats to the pretty lady.

Everything is written by hand! Accounts are recorded in huge books. The letters and labels are handwritten. Do you see them in the waste-paper basket?

Find the image where the horse does not touch the ground. Circle it.

Edgar de Gas was born in Paris on the 19th of July 1834. He is the eldest of five children: Edgar, Achille, Thrse, Marguerite and Ren. His father, Auguste, is the manager of the French office of the family bank, which was founded in Naples, Italy. His mother, Clestine, has Creole origins and is the daughter of a cotton merchant who made his fortune in New Orleans, America.

Unfortunately, his mother dies when he is only 13 years old. His father, a great lover of art and music, takes young Edgar to the Louvre museum to admire the great masterpieces on display. He presents his son to his friends, art collectors and encourages his artistic talent.

In 1855, Edgar enters the School of Fine Arts in Paris where he paints historical scenes, like Young Spartans Exercising, which were inspired by Greek Antiquity.

In Ancient Greece, the education of girls in the city of Sparta was very physical, just like for the boys. This causes the rivalry we can see here.

The young painter signs his paintings Degas. A name of an artist! Bit by bit he distances himself from his classical training so that he can observe and paint the world around him, modern life!

Years later, Degas stays with his uncle Michel Musson in New Orleans. There, many plantations grow the precious material cotton. Edgar paints his uncle in his office, capturing the thriving cotton trade. Do you see the men checking the quality of the cotton? Degas also paints his two brothers, Ren reading the newspaper and Achille standing cross legged watching the frenzied activity of the office.

What do we do with cotton? How many figures can you count? Find Michel, Ren and Achille in this picture.

Botticelli

Off to Italy! In 1856, the young Degas goes to Italy, discovering Rome, Florence and Naples. He stays there for three years. What beauty! He admires the great masterpieces of the Renaissance, such as the works of Botticelli and Raphal. He goes to visit his grandfather, Ren Hilaire de Gas, in Naples, then to Florence to his aunt Laura who is married to the Baron Gennaro Bellelli. The young artist draws numerous pictures of his hosts and their two daughters, Giovanna and Guila, aged 10 and 7 years old.

Raphal

Who is who? Find the details in the painting

On his return to Paris, Degas paints this ambitious family portrait. Their faces are serious and cold. The motionless objects seem to be hiding a big secret. The atmosphere is dull and tense. Only Giulia, the youngest sister, has a carefree air, her leg resting on the chair. How are the little girls dressed?