Portraits, At the Stock Exchange is a famous painting by French painter Edgar Degas. Completed in 1876, this painting is most famous for its anti-semitism depiction of Jews in Paris. Degas was a known ant-Semite, and this is certainly visible in the painting. The colors of the painting--pale tans, greys, and blacks--give the painting a sinister feel. By showing the Jewish bankers in the painting secretly whispering to each other, Degas hints at some type of conspiracy. This is in tune with much of the reasons for anti-Semitism in Europe at the time. There were fears of a Jewish financial conspiracy, in which Jews, through conspiracies with one another, manipulated business for their gain, exploiting the common people. In fact, Degas's ant-Semitism may have been fueled by the bankrupcy of his own family's banking business, leaving Degas with some degree of resentment toward banking, and, therefore, the Jews which symbolized it.
Portraits, At the Stock Exchange also fall unders the Impressionism movement of painting. Evidence for this can be seen in the painting's quick, somewhat abstract brushstrokes. Also the pyschological perspective of the painting is one of detachment, a theme frequent in Impressionist paintings. This painting currently resides in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France.
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