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Why did Edgar Degas stop working after leaving his studio in 1912?
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Edgar Degas
Self-Portrait, oil on paper by Edgar Degas, c. 1855â56; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Edgar Degas did not stop working solely because he left his studio in 1912; rather, his decision to cease artistic production was the result of his advanced age and significant physical decline. By that time, Degas was suffering from both reduced hearing and failing eyesight, which had been a long-standing concern throughout his later career.12
After being forced to vacate his long-time studio on the rue Victor Massé in 1912, he effectively retired from creating new art. In his final years, he retreated into his memories, surrounding himself with the works he had previously produced and collected throughout his life.1