Get a sneak preview of the latest hit exhibit from the Museum of Modern Art: Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty on Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m.

The exhibition shows Degas at his most modern, capturing the spirit of urban life; depicting the body in new and daring ways; liberating mark-making from tradition; and boldly engaging the possibilities of abstraction.

Edgar Degas is best known as a painter and chronicler of the ballet, yet his work as a printmaker reveals the true extent of his restless experimentation. In the mid-1870s, Degas was introduced to the monotype process—drawing in ink on a metal plate that was then run through a press, typically resulting in a single print.

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Illustration: “Edgar Degas. Heads of a Man and a Woman (Homme et femme, en buste). c. 1877–80. Monotype on paper, plate: 2 13/16 x 3 3/16” (7.2 x 8.1 cm) . British Museum, London. Bequeathed by Campbell Dodgson” — from the MOMA website

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Captivated by the monotype’s potential, he immersed in the technique with enormous enthusiasm, taking the medium to radical ends. The monotype also sparked a host of experiments for Degas, who often used the medium as a starting point from which an image could be reworked and revised. This process of repetition and transformation, mirroring and reversal, allowed Degas to extend his approach to the study of form.

Refreshments will be served.

Additional parking for evening and weekend library programs is available at Thorndal Circle, behind Nielsen’s.

About the Presenter

Over the last 12 years, art historian Larissa Bailiff has worked as an educator and instructor for MoMA, teaching more than 25 in-gallery courses. Her specialty is modern European art and culture, especially that of France and Spain. In recent months, Larissa has been developing content for a new immersive arts-education and technology company called WoofbertVR.

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— an announcement from Darien Library