Edgar Degas was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, and drawing. His early study of classical art prefaced a body of mature works which convincingly placed the human figure in contemporary environments. Degas was born in Paris, France to Celestine Musson de Gas, and Augustin de Gas, a banker. The de Gas family was moderately wealthy. At age 11, Degas began his schooling, and started down the road of art with enrollment in the Lycee Louis Grand. Degas began to paint seriously early in life; by eighteen he had turned a room in his home into an artist's studio, but he was expected to go to law school, as were most aristocratic young men. Degas, however, had other plans and left his formal education at age 20. He then studied drawing with Louis Lamothe, under whose guidance he flourished, following the style of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Today, Degas is thought of as "one of the founders of Impressionism", his work is highly regarded, and his paintings, pastels, drawings, and sculpture (most of the latter were not intended for exhibition, and were only discovered after his death) are on prominent display in many museums. Degas had no formal pupils, however he did greatly influence several important painters, most notably Jean-Louis Forain, Mary Cassatt and Walter Sickert.