Timing Perception in Paintings and Sculptures of Edgar Degas

AbstractThe impressionist artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is widely known for his artistic production dedicated to the representation of movement. Degas has done a careful study, realistically depicting the movement both in his paintings of scenes of horses, women bathing and dancing, and in his sculptures of dancers in various positions of classical ballet. Since movements exist only at the intersection space-time, and visual works of art exist only in physical spaces defined by the works themselves, this article discusses the perception of time in the work of Degas. Therefore, this paper emphasizes aspects of the representation of movement used by the artist and the implied relations of these aspects with the perception of time. The timing perception is addressed according to studies that revealed components of the subjective perception of time related to a meeting of an observer with a work of visual art (aesthetic episode).