Edgar Degas (July 19, 1834 - September 27, 1917) was a French painter and sculptor.

Born Edgar Hilaire Germain de Gas in Paris, France, he received a classical education at Lycee Loius-le-Grand from 1845 to 1852. In 1852 he transformed a room from the family home into a studio and worked under Felix Joseph Barrias. He made copies of the old masters in the Louvre and studied the prints of Durer, Mantegna, Rembrandt and Goya. Degas lived with relatives in New Orleans, Louisiana 1872-1873. On his return he opened a studio, concentrating on themes from modern life: dancers, acrobats, singers, washerwomen, etc. He also did female nudes, which, along with dancers, became his favourite subject mater.

In 1881 he showed The little dancer of fourteen years, his only sculpture exhibited during his life. After the Last Impressionist exhibition in 1886, Degas stopped sending works to exhibitions. Degas left more than 2000 oil paintings and pastels and 150 sculptures. He is especially known for his paintings of ballet dancers and other women, as well as of race horses. He is often considered an Impressionist, but his work sometimes goes more in classical and realist directions, other times to Romanticism.