The Life of Edgar Degas Paris, 1834. A child is born into a moderately wealthy family to Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas. The name he would eventually simplify to Edgar Degas marks the beginning of a life defined by the tension between social expectation and artistic obsession. He grows up within the sophisticated atmosphere of the French capital, a setting that will later serve as the backdrop for his observations of modern life. The years pass in a blur of study and shifting interests. He moves from the structured environment of his upbringing toward the grit of the city's working spaces. He…