Edgar Degas Paintings in Paris

Edgar Degas Paintings in Paris — Where to See Them

Paris is indispensable for experiencing Edgar Degas because it was the city where he lived, worked, and drew his subjects from daily life, and its streets and institutions provide the clearest context for his themes and subjects. Although there are approximately 0 paintings on permanent display across two Paris museums — Petit Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris) (0 paintings) and Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris (0 paintings) — the city itself and its museum archives and exhibitions are the primary places to trace Degas’s relationship to Parisian modernity.

Petit Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris)

Even if the Petit Palais currently lists no paintings by Edgar Degas, it matters for experiencing his work because the museum’s 19th-century Parisian collection and exhibition history place Degas within the same civic and cultural landscape as his contemporaries. The Petit Palais often frames Impressionist and academic practice in relation to Parisian life, decorative arts, and museum displays that influenced reception of Degas’s pastels, prints, and sculptures — so visiting helps you understand how his work was shown and contextualized in the city that shaped his subject matter.

Address: Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, France

Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00 (last admission to permanent collections ~17:15); closed Mondays and public holidays

Admission: Permanent collections: free (temporary exhibitions may be ticketed)

Tip: Head first to the 19th‑century and Impressionist-related displays (or any temporary exhibitions on the period) to see works by Degas’s peers and the display contexts that illuminate his choices; visit on a weekday morning to avoid crowds and to have time to study labels and exhibition catalogues often available in the information desk.

Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Musée Carnavalet matters for Degas because it situates his art within the changing urban fabric of Paris — the streets, theaters, cafés and neighborhoods he depicted and inhabited. While Carnavalet may not present paintings by Degas, its archival displays, maps, photographs and period interiors let you trace the real-life locations and social settings that recur in Degas’s scenes of ballet, racecourses and city life, deepening your sense of his subject matter’s topography and social context.

Address: 23 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris, France

Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00 (closed Monday). Ticket office closes 17:15; exhibition rooms close 17:45. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec.

Admission: Permanent collections: free of charge

Tip: Ask for or look for displays about late‑19th‑century Paris and neighborhood maps (Marais, Odéon, the Grands Boulevards) first — these help you match places in Degas’s works to real locations; visit early or late in the day when the quieter galleries make it easier to study archival panels and period rooms without interruption.

Edgar Degas and Paris

Edgar Degas (born July 19, 1834, Paris; died September 27, 1917, Paris) lived and worked in Paris for most of his life, maintaining studios in the city from his return from Italy in 1859 onward (notably a long residence on rue Victor Massé until about 1912). ¹² He exhibited regularly in Paris: Degas sought Salon acceptance in the 1860s (The Bellelli Family was begun for the Salon) and was a principal organizer and exhibitor in the independent Impressionist exhibitions — including the first group show held at Nadar’s studio, 35 Boulevard des Capucines, in April 1874. ¹³ Key Parisian moments include his transition from history painting to modern life scenes in the 1860s, his celebrated ballet and café subjects of the 1870s (e.g., works now in Musée d’Orsay), and his role organizing later Impressionist shows (1874–1886). ²³ Paris institutions profoundly shaped his career: the official Salon, the Café Guerbois circle, and later Paris museums that collected and exhibited his work during his lifetime and after. ¹⁴

Edgar Degas Paintings in Paris — Where to See Them

At a Glance

Petit Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris)

Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

Edgar Degas and Paris

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