Edgar DegasEdgar Degas was a French artist, some would say of him as the expert in drawing the human figure in motion. He was known as an impressionist and was different from all other artists of his type. Edgar Degas was a person who, at certain times, brazenly defied common social conventions and practices. Although he could be the kindest person, he would sometimes lose his temper during social gatherings, becoming hostile towards people who disagreed with his ways and opinions. Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834 in Saint-Georges in Paris. His father was a French banker and his mother was an American from New Orleans. While Degas was growing up, his idol was the painter. He began his artistic studies with Louis Lamothes, a student of Ingres. After studying there, he progressed and entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts. In 1854, he left and went to Italy. For 5 years, he stayed there and studied Italian art, mainly works. Edgar Degas was known as an impressionist. The Impressionists were artists who exhibited their artwork in independent exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. It was the shared desire to create an open forum for artists to show their work that united the group. The word "Impressionist" was coined by critic Louis Leroy after seeing paintings at the first exhibition of the Impressionists in April 1874. The name Leroy gave to his article in the French periodical was Charivari "Exposition des impressionistes" and sarcastically protected the new style of painting that ignored details, stripped brushstrokes bare, and put unmixed colors next to each other. Like most of the French public, Leroy did not consider the works of Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar as works of art deserving serious attention. In 1859, he returned to Paris. There he painted portraits of family and friends and many historical subjects, where he used both classical and romantic styles. In the late 1860s he moved to contemporary themes, painting both theater scenes and portraits with an emphasis on the social and intellectual implications of the props and setting. . Around 1868, Degas began to be recognized as an artist. At the beginning of the 1870s, woman became Degas' favorite theme. In his studio, he drew from a live model and assembled poses into groups depicting rehearsal and performance scenes. In 1872, he visited some of his relatives in Louisiana and painted The Cotton Exchange in New Orleans, which is his only painting acquired by a museum during his lifetime..