Bather Drying Herself

Edgar Degas

ca. 1892 · Charcoal and pastel, heightened with white chalk, on tracing paper (mounted on cardboard) · Drawings and Prints

Edgar Degas greatly admired the female figure. Whereas his depictions of ballerinas focus on the elegant, performative body, his studies of women bathing show an equal appreciation for the uninhibited gestures of this private activity. In intimate, close-up portrayals, Degas depicted his models seated, crouched, or standing, often in contorted poses as they lifted arms and legs to wash or dry themselves. Chalk and pastels helped him capture the play of light and movement in these domestic choreographies. In this relatively abstract portrayal, he used white chalk to offset the color of the paper and to suggest the curvature of the woman’s back and arms.

Artist

Edgar Degas

Date

ca. 1892

Medium

Charcoal and pastel, heightened with white chalk, on tracing paper (mounted on cardboard)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960