Veiled In Pastel: Visual Decline and the Aesthetic Legacy of Edgar Degas

Purpose: To investigate whether clinical and material evidence support the hypothesis that Edgar Degas’sdeclining vision, likely due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), influenced his artistic technique and latestyle. Methodology: An integrative review was conducted using ophthalmological, curatorial, and spectralimaging studies. Ten articles were analyzed alongside four representative artworks through iconographic andpigment analysis. Results: Findings revealed features consistent with central vision loss, including blurredcontours, tonal modeling, and altered spatial composition. Simulated AMD matched visual distortions observedin Degas’s paintings. Material studies identified adaptive techniques such as pigment layering and the use oftracing paper. Conclusion: Degas’s vision loss likely played a decisive role in shaping his late work. Rather thaninhibiting creativity, it fostered technical innovation and stylistic reinvention. This case highlights the value ofinterdisciplinary approaches to understanding how sensory decline can influence artistic expression.