Young Spartans Exercising 1860

Edgar Degas made Young Spartans Exercising using oil paints, and its surface has a dry, almost matte quality. The loose application of the paint, in short strokes, gives a sense of immediacy, as if capturing a fleeting moment. Degas was fascinated by movement, and how to represent it on a static surface. He employed techniques of layering, using thin washes of colour over each other to build up form and depth. This painstaking process is particularly evident in the figures, which are not sharply defined but seem to emerge from the background. Degas was also fascinated by photography, and this may have influenced his approach to composition and perspective. Like a snapshot, the figures are caught in mid-action, with some cropped at the edges of the canvas. It's a method of production that feels very modern, using a historical subject. We often think of fine art as distinct from craft, but here, the emphasis on process, layering, and skilled handling of materials suggests otherwise. Considering the materials and making of this work helps us to appreciate its full meaning, which lies as much in the artistic process as in the subject matter itself.