Escape to myself

A wonderful exhibition with some wonderful Degas pastels as well as Seurat,Van Gogh, Pissarro, Gaugin and Monet among many other great Impressionists. A real discovery for me was the Italian Zandomeneghi, a pupil of Degas and really accomplished. Some of the great women Impressionists were also well represented; Morisot, Gonzales and Cassatt. Its been a great year for exhibitions if women artists of the period with Morisot, Modersohn-Becker and Kollwitz being shown at major galleries.

Highlights were the conte crayon drawings of Seurat with his sensitive and sublime renditions of light and shade an the magical line and scintillating colour of Degas pastels which were exceptional. What i love about Degas is his insistant and dispassionate observation and the way in which his models are never eroticised or romanticised. His ballet dancers are so well known that its easy to glance at them and forget his amazing ability to catch the truth of the pose.