Most artists have a distinguishing style of their own which causes their work to be unique. As with most artists Degas uses a particular content and has a specific artistic style to his work. Edgar Degas used a variety of techniques that causes his works to be recognizable and unique.

One way that Degas makes his works unique is he uses spontaneity. This could have been easily accomplished with the use of pastels. Instead Degas used oil-based paint with the sheen removed, to imitate pastels. He imitated the marks of a charcoal by using small brush strokes. He would then fill in the spaces between the marks with a limited color range later. One of his missions in life was to make paint look spontaneous. Many of his painting were of the tense moments before a ballet starts. He wanted the painting to look as if they have been painted right then and there in the alcoves. Through the use of brush strokes and altered paints Degas gave his paintings a unique look.

Another way Degas caused his works to be distinguishable from other artists was making the viewer fell as if they were at the scene of the painting. He accomplished this task with a variety of techniques. One technique was that Degas would paint the background with less detail. Painting the background with less detail caused parts of the foreground to become focus points. A person’s eye works the same way, only focusing on part of what is being seen. Degas also would only show part of the subject. Reducing the total area seen gave the impression that there was more to the scene. This technique came from Japanese art works. These techniques are other ways Degas makes his paintings unique.

Degas uses many methods and techniques that make his work unique. Many other artists also have defining styles that make their work unique. Even artists without a definite style, still use many of the same techniques as Degas. These techniques used by Degas and other artists are used universally throughout art.