Edgar Degas Place de la Concorde Oil on canavas 78.4x117.5 cm
From May 19th, 2012 – State Hermitage Museum
Edgar Degas’ work entitled Place de la Concorde (1876) is on display as part of the Revived Masterpieces series. The characters in the paining are the artist’s friend Ludovic Lepic and his two daughters, crossing the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Completed by the artist in 1876, this canvas is a very important milestone on the work of Edgar Degas and 19th century French painting as a whole. It is simultaneously a realistic portrait, a street scene and an urban landscape in the impressionist key.
For a year and a half, the painting underwent a process of restoration at the Hermitage, the primary goal of which was uncovering the part of the original painting that was caught under the frame. An area with a width of up to 4 cm was not covered with a layer of the lacquer applied later, which also made it possible to verify that the painting was initially made in a silver colour, and then covered with yellow lacquer. Thanks to the painstaking work of the restorers, it was possible to restore the famous canvas to its original condition and restore the true character of the master’s painting.
