Rembrandt and Degas: Two Young Artists, at the Clark Art Institute, by Gregory Scheckler

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Edgar Degas, Self-Portrait, c. 1855–56 Oil on paper laid down on canvas, 40.6 x 34.3 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960 61.101.6

Sponsored jointly by the Clark Art Institute and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, this small exhibition of prints and paintings by Rembrandt and Degas opens with Degas' assertion that "What I do is the result of reflection and study of the great masters."

One of the marvelous things Degas learned from them is that new art need not always look like old art, that the great masters often were consummate experimenters developing entirely new kinds of imagery. Indeed Degas is well-known for his pastels of dancers, which often involve mark-making and composing methods that veer far away from the academic traditions of his early training.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an International Journal for the Arts!