Mazda, in partnership with Art Exhibitions Australia, is proud to showcase the revered talents of Impressionist, Edgar Degas in the new Melbourne Winter Masterpieces season.

Renowned for his study of ballet dancers, Degas: A New Vision is the first major retrospective exhibition of his works to come to Australia.

Staged at the National Gallery of Victoria between June 24 and September 18 - and sponsored by Mazda - the collection features more than 200 paintings, drawings, pastels, prints, monotypes, photographs and sculptures.

Years in the planning, former Musée du Louvre director Henri Loyrette travelled to more than 50 museums and private collections across Europe, North America, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, to bring together this world-first exhibition.

The exhibition takes an innovative approach to the display, grouping works by theme rather than in chronological order, and promises to be one of the greatest touring collections of art seen in Australia this year.

"Like Mazda's passion for athletic, sculptural form in our design, and the high level of engineering excellence in our range of motor vehicles, Degas: A New Vision also demonstrates the height of artistic accomplishment," said Mazda Australia managing director Martin Benders.

"It is a privilege for Mazda to be associated with this world-class collection and to introduce it to an Australian audience for the first time.

"We hope that you take the time to immerse yourself in Degas' creativity and authenticity, and we sincerely trust that you will enjoy all that this extraordinary exhibition has to offer."

Degas: A New Vision opens today.

For further information on Degas: A New Vision visit www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/degas/

For more information on Mazda sponsorships go to www.mazda.com.au/about-mazda/sponsorships/

Important: If you choose to use the image it is a requirement from the National Gallery of Victoria that the full caption below be included. Image integrity must be maintained, in that each image must be shown in full with no cropping, overprinting or changes to proportions or ratio.

Image caption:

Edgar Degas
The rehearsal c.1874 oil on canvas 58.4 x 83.8 cm Burrell Collection, Glasgow Lemoisne 430 (Inv. 35.246) © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums and Libraries Collections