Seated Nude Woman Brushing Her Hair

between 1885 and 1908

Edgar Degas French, 1834-1917

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About the Artwork

Throughout his career Degas returned to the same figures and motifs again and again, constantly modifying and refining them. One of these was nude women engaged in daily activities like bathing, drying themselves, or brushing their hair. His figures are often depicted from an unusual vantage point and framed asymmetrically. Though they appear unposed, Degas collaborated closely with his models in the studio. Eventually, through continual repetition of a motif or position, he arrived at the point where he could render it from memory and experiment with the form in different configurations of space. This glimpse into the quiet world of a woman seated at her toilette is drawn in charcoal and supplemented with pastels. Degas considered drawing and pastel to be mediums equal in importance to painting, which set him apart from his contemporaries, and he considered works such as this to be completely finished.

From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Seated Nude Woman Brushing Her Hair

Artwork Date between 1885 and 1908

Artist Edgar Degas

Life Dates 1834-1917

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Charcoal and pastel on blue laid paper

Dimensions Sheet: 19 × 24 1/4 inches (48.3 × 61.6 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of the Josephine F. Ford Estate

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2005.63

Markings

Signed Signed, lower left: Degas

Provenance

until 1960, Wildenstein (New York, New York, USA);
1960-2005, Josephine Ford (Grosse Point Farms, Michigan, USA);
2005-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Edgar Degas, Seated Nude Woman Brushing Her Hair, between 1885 and 1908, charcoal and pastel on blue laid paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of the Josephine F. Ford Estate, 2005.63.