import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
from matplotlib.patches import Ellipse

delta = 45.0  # degrees

angles = np.arange(0, 360 + delta, delta)
ells = [Ellipse((1, 1), 4, 2, a) for a in angles]

a = plt.subplot(111, aspect='equal')

for e in ells:
    e.set_clip_box(a.bbox)
    e.set_alpha(0.1)
    a.add_artist(e)

plt.xlim(-2, 4)
plt.ylim(-1, 3)

plt.show()