The Relationship Between Subject and Viewer in Degas' Paintings

by Alison Cullen

In many of Edgar Degas' paintings, he revolutionizes the traditional relationship between the subject and the viewer. When his work was first being shown, his received a generally uncomfortable response. This was caused by the attitude present in many of his paintings, accompanied with peculiar angles and compositional techniques. Many of his paintings depict private scenes, in which the figure or figures are unaware of the artist. The viewer of one such painting feels like a voyeur, and is somewhat unsure of whom is the subject and who is the viewer.

Voyeurism: A voyeur is defined as a person who "...derives exaggerated or unseemly enjoyment from being an observer." (From Webster's College Dictionary) It seems that Edgar Degas was one of these people.

Degas enjoyed being an unseen observer. For example, when his friend and fellow painter Walter Richard Sickert suggested that they take a horse-drawn cab to a cafe, Degas objected. He then remarked: " 'Personally, I don't like cabs. You don't see anyone. That's why I love to ride on the omnibus - you can look at people. We were created to look at one another, weren't we?' " (from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/degas_ext.html). It seems that Degas fit perfectly into the modern notion of the city. He was a flaneur, having the means to stroll about the city, belonging nowhere while belonging everywhere. As Charles Baudelaire described the flaneur in his essay, "The Painter of Modern Life,": "the passionate spectator," " He is an 'I' with an insatiable appetite for the 'non-I,' at every instant rendering and explaining it in pictures more living than life itself, which is always unstable and fugitive." This is part of the key to Degas' paintings. He invited an audience into the intimate life of his subjects as he explores the opposing forces of privacy and exposure in the modern city.

One of the aspects of Edgar Degas' paintings that sets him apart from the Impressionists is his attention given to the position of the viewer or audience. He is thought to have said, " 'I want to look through the keyhole,'" (from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/ftptoc/degas_ext.html) meaning that his subjects were not intended to know that they were subjects, and were therefore in their most natural or unrehearsed positions.

This type of voyeurism was not previously unheard of. In Courbet's painting, "Woman with Parrot" (1866), a naked woman is shown sprawled across a bed, her arms stretched upward towards a parrot. In this painting, the angle of the viewer is intriguing. The woman is lying on the bed, but the audience is positioned above her, as if we are standing near the bed and looking down at her. The woman seems to be in the middle of something, as if we have walked in on her, but she has not yet noticed our presence. This painting is voyeuristic because it makes the viewer feel as if he or she is spying on this woman.

Degas' voyeurism is similar; however, it tends to depict everyday activities. In his painting "La Clase De Danse" (The Dance Class), the ballet dancers are on a break, in relaxed positions. In the background, a few of the dancers are sitting and talking, completely unaware that they are being watched. The eye is drawn to a dancer in the foreground sitting on a piano. Her head is tilted back, her eyes are closed, and her hand appears to be scratching or massaging her stiff back. This type of informality is typical of Degas paintings.

Courbet, Woman With Parrot (1866) From http://sunsite.auc.dk/cgfa/courbet/p-courbe14.htm	Degas, La Clase de Danse (ca. 1875-76) From http://www.ocaiw.com/degalg27.htm

The painting "Comtesse d'Haussonville" by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres provides a direct contrast to the voyeuristic qualities of the two previous works. In Ingres painting, the subject seems to be looking back out at the audience, aware of their presence. In addition, she is posed, not caught in an awkward position or moment of motion as in many of Degas' paintings. Furthermore, the subject is not having a private moment, and in fact is not doing anything other than posing for her portrait. The innocence of Ingres' piece is radically different from this next painting by Degas.     Ingres, Comtesse d'Haussonville (1845) From http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/ingres/haussonville.jpg

However, some of Degas paintings are voyeuristic in a more disturbing way. For example, in his painting "Femme Nue Se Coiffant" (Nude Woman Combing Her Hair), a naked woman is shown sitting on a small chair in front of a coffee table. She is combing her hair almost violently, and one can hardly make out her face under the cover of her hair. A man, fully clothed, sits across from her on a couch. She does not look at him, and seems only to be focusing on her task at that moment, but he is watching her intently. He is sitting back as if he is enjoying watching her, and suddenly the viewer is made uncomfortable, realizing that he or she is watching the woman in the same way that the man is watching her. The viewer feels embarrassed to be there, as if he or she is intruding on this private scene. As a result of this self-conscious feeling, the viewer feels like the subject, under intense observation. When looking at a Degas painting, one is actually compelled to look at oneself.   Degas, Femme Nue Se Coiffant (c. 1876-77) From http://www.ocaiw.com/degalg48.htm

In many of his paintings such as this one, Degas brings the audience into his world as a flaneur. Like Degas, we become observers of others. In addition, this intrusion on unsuspecting subjects makes the audience more self-conscious. This interplay of watching and being watched becomes a fundamental aspect of the modern metropolis. As Degas struggles with the opposing forces in living a public and/or private life in the modern city, so does the audience.

Degas Introduction| Impressionism| Relationship Between Subject and Viewer| Compositional Techniques| Depiction of Women