← Edgar Degas

Woman on a Sofa

Original title: Woman on a Sofa

Artist

Edgar Degas

Date

1875

Medium

Oil colors freely mixed with turpentine, with touches of pastel, over graphite underdrawing, on pink paper

Dimensions

19 1/8 x 16 3/4 in. (48.6 x 42.5 cm)

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929

kurzbeschreibung

Edgar Degas painted a seated woman in a dark dress with a light blue scarf in 1875. He used a mixture of oil paint and turpentine, adding pastel over a graphite underdrawing on pink paper.

Description

A woman sits on a sofa, looking to the left. She wears a dark dress and a light blue scarf or sleeve; her hair is gathered in a bun. The arrangement is simple and brings the figure forward. Orange and beige tones fill the background, while frontal light emphasizes the sitter's contours.

Context

This sheet was made during a period when Degas was deeply engaged with the female nude and scenes of everyday life. He experimented with various materials and techniques to capture light and movement. Paris was the setting, where he regularly observed ballet and bourgeois life.

Impact

Loose brushwork and the interplay of oil and pastel create a lively, almost sketch-like surface. Warm colors and subdued light give the scene an intimate, quiet mood.

Technique

Oil colors thinned with turpentine form the base, with pastel accents applied thickly on top. A graphite underdrawing served as a guide, and pink paper as the support. This combination allowed Degas to work quickly and directly.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)