Edgar Degas — Impressionist Realism, Ballets & Brothels | Paintings, Pastels & Monotypes | LoRA (Krea2 Turbo)

LoRA trained on the complete and unvarnished artistic legacy of Edgar Degas (1834–1917). This model captures both his celebrated public works (ballet rehearsals, racehorses, pastel nudes) and his fiercely private, hidden layer: the raw, voyeuristic brothel monotypes (maisons closes) and the gritty realism of Parisian nightlife. It reproduces his radical cropping, unusual viewpoints, aggressive pastel hatching, and the translucent layering of pastel over monotype.

Trained and tested on Krea2 Turbo. NSFW-capable base recommended — Degas' monotypes and bathing pastels are fundamentally about unidealized, unguarded human flesh.

About the Artist

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas (1834–1917) was a French artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. While identified with Impressionism, he rejected the term, preferring to be called a Realist or an Independent.

• The Public Master: The undisputed painter of the Paris Opera ballet, capturing dancers not in idealized mid-air leaps, but in the grueling reality of rehearsals—stretching, scratching, resting, and adjusting their shoes.

• The Hidden Voyeur: Creator of over 300 monotypes, many depicting the unglamorous, raw interiors of Parisian brothels (maisons closes). These were never exhibited during his lifetime and remained hidden in his studio. They show prostitutes waiting, washing, or interacting with clients with a shocking, unidealized documentary frankness.

• The Chronicler of Labor: Painter of exhausted laundresses (repasseuses) yawning over heavy irons, and milliners arranging hats in shop windows.

The Manner

• Radical Framing & Cropping: Influenced by photography and Japanese woodblock prints (Ukiyo-e). Figures are often cut off by the edge of the canvas; the viewpoint is frequently from high above, from behind, or from the orchestra pit looking up.

• Unguarded Intimacy: Degas famously said, "I have tried to represent women as animals cleaning themselves." His subjects are never posing for the viewer; they are caught in private, unglamorous, or exhausted moments.

• Pastel over Monotype: His signature late technique. He would print a dark, murky monotype base in ink, then aggressively layer vibrant, dusty pastels on top, creating a unique glowing, textured surface.

• Artificial Lighting: Master of the harsh, unnatural light of gas lamps, theatre footlights, and the sickly green glow of absinthe in café-concerts.

• Tart & Muddy Palette: Absinthe greens, gaslight yellows, dusty pinks, bruised purples, and deep ink blacks. Never the bright, sunny plein-air colors of Monet or Renoir.

• Aggressive Hatching: Visible, directional, almost violent strokes of pastel or charcoal that build form through intense linear energy rather than smooth blending.

Tested Generation Settings

Parameter

Value

Base model

Krea2 Turbo

VAE

qwen_image_vae

Text encoder

qwen3vl_4b_fp8_scaled

Steps

8

Sampler

Euler a

Schedule type

Bong Tangent

CFG scale

1

Resolution

1536×2048 (portrait/figures) or 2048×1536 (stage/panoramas)

LoRA weight

0.85–1.0

Negative prompt not required at CFG 1.

Versions

• Epoch 19 (current) — balanced style adherence; captures both the delicate pastel dust and the dark, raw ink of the monotypes. Stable on Krea2 Turbo at 8 steps.