Edgar-Germain-Hilaire Degas, a revered artist of the time, created many works of art during his lifetime. His journey in life began when he was born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, France. He was born to Célestine Musson de Gas and Auguste de Gas. His father was a banker by trade, very supportive in his attempt to become an artist, and his mother came from a fairly wealthy French family. He was the eldest of five children, his siblings were Achille, Thérese, Marguerite and René. He began his studies at the age of eleven at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand where he studied many different subjects. His father saw his love for art and his growing artistic ability and motivated him by taking Degas to many museums in Paris. Unfortunately his mother died when he was only thirteen years old. In 1853, Edgar Degas graduated from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand with a degree in literature. His father believed that becoming an artist was not a good profession and wanted his son to become a lawyer. So Degas briefly studied law and then decided he wanted to become an artist. Then, at the age of eighteen, he transformed a room in his house into a studio, and was registered in the Louvre as a copyist, a person who copies paintings for study purposes. In 1855 Degas was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There he studied with Louis Lamothe, a former student of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, one of his favorite artists whom he had met at the Louvre. Under his guidance, his artistic ability flourished. He went to Italy in 1856 on a three-year trip to visit his aunt, where he studied and copied the painting of many Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. In 1859 he returned to Paris to buy a studio. He continued to be a copyist for Renoir, but eventually had to leave Edgar Degas due to his personality and beliefs. It is believed that towards the end of his life, his eyesight declined and in 1907 he was forced to continue painting only with pastels and taking photographs. His eyesight worsened and by 1910 he could only continue to create sculptures. Finally, it is believed that Edgar Degas had to stop doing any art work in 1912 due to his poor eyesight and because he was forced to leave his home due to the demolition of the building. He spent the rest of his life, almost completely blind, anxiously wandering the streets of Paris, until his death on September 17, 1917. Edgar Degas was a great artist of his time and created many works of art that continue to live on, years after his death. died. Edgar Degas never married and died lonely at the age of eighty-three, outliving most of his closest friends.