Portrait of Madame Dietz-Monnin

Edgar Degas

ca. 1879 · Pastel on toned greenish gray paper · Drawings and Prints

Due to financial difficulties in the late 1870s, Degas accepted a commission to paint the portrait of Madame Adèle Dietz-Monnin, a work later included in the catalogue of the 1879 Impressionist Exhibition as "Portrait after a Costume Ball" (Art Institute of Chicago.) Letters attest to frequent sittings in the spring of 1879; however, this drawing is one of very few surviving studies. Vigorously executed in black and white pastel, it shows Degas recording how light fell across the sitter with particular attention to the highlights. The lighting conditions remained a primary concern in the finished work, which places Mme Dietz-Monnin in the context of a brightly lit ball surrounded by reflective surfaces.

Artist

Edgar Degas

Date

ca. 1879

Medium

Pastel on toned greenish gray paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Nanette B. Kelekian, 2020