The Bellelli Family by Edgar Degas
By Mason Petrancota
The Bellelli Family is a portrait by Edger Degas of the Bellelli family, to which he was related. The painting is of a family of four who have just returned from their grandfather’s funeral, and he was Degas’ grandfather as well. A wide variety of emotions can be seen in this piece through closer examination.
The family appears to be in a row, but some believe the scene is too telling to be true and that Degas had arranged them into a diagram of family relationships. The poses are too perfect to be natural, and it is obvious Degas carefully positioned them, which is an odd thing for an Impressionist artist to do. The woman in the left of the painting is Laura Bellelli, who is Degas’ aunt and the daughter of the deceased. She is the dominant figure in the painting and she shows her dominance by standing fully upright, her head is high, and her face is set. To the right of Laura is a portrait of the deceased grandfather, and is a real portrait by Degas. Laura’s husband, Gennaro, the man to the right is at the edge of the frame. His body is not facing the viewer, and he barely appears to be part of his family. This shows a divisional break between the father and the rest of the family. The daughter’s emotions and the daughters themselves are very contradicting of each other. Giulia is the daughter that is standing with her mother. She is standing upright with her feet and her hands together, and she can be interpreted to be a subsection of her mother. The other daughter Giovanna quite oppositely sitting center stage and looks very independent even devilish or brat like. She looks very fidgety and is in a somewhat of a show off pose. An interesting observation is that Giovanna’s face is exactly that of her mothers. They have the same hair style, hair color, same expression, are facing the viewer the same way, and they seem to be the stronger characters in this painting. Meanwhile, Giulia and Gennaro are linked by their red hair, and are the weaker two of the family. Another fascinating insight about this portrait is that nobody in the family is making eye contact with one another. Giulia is intriguingly looking directly at the viewer, and it has been interpreted that she is looking at Degas with a “get me out of here” expression on her face.
Throughout the painting there are many feelings that can be observed that are felt by the family members towards one another. This painting portrays how the family is very torn and disconnected. It may simply look like only a family portrait, but by taking a close look you can see a great deal of hidden meaning in the piece, whether Degas intended it to be there or not.
Kostenevich, A. G. (n.d.). Edgar Degas The Bellelli Family. Retrieved October 2008, from The State Hermitage Museum : http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/04/2006/hm4_1_145.html
Degas, E. (n.d.). Edgar Degas The Bellelli Family. Retrieved October 2008, from Olga's Gallery : http://www.abcgallery.com/D/degas/degas4.html
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The picture didn't work on this one?
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