The Degas connection

The great French impressionist painter, Edgar Degas, visited New Orleans in 1872, a time when the city, still recovering from the ravages of the Civil War, was in the throes of Reconstruction and under Federal control. Degas’ productivity as a painter had stalled, but something about the war-torn and divided city gave him new inspiration and elicited some of his finest paintings.

The primary reason for Degas’ trip was to spend a few months with the American branch of his family. The painter’s great grandfather, Vincent Rillieux, had built a large house on Royal Street. His daughter Maria was Degas’ maternal grandmother.

A well-kept secret of the Rillieux clan was the liaison of one of Vincent’s sons, also named Vincent, with Constance Vivant. Two of their sons – first cousins of Degas’ mother - were Edmond, who became superintendent of the New Orleans water works, and Norbert, the chemist and engineer.

A revolution in sugar processing | Norbert Rillieux: chemist and engineer | Sugar production and the multiple effect evaporator | Neither slave nor free | The Degas connection | Landmark designation | Further reading

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