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Lot Essay
Degas' pastels from the 1890s are often considered to be among the most impressive, experimental and expressive of his career. Executed during the first half of the decade, Femme se coiffant features one of the themes that Degas clearly reveled in exploring during that period: the woman à sa toilette. As in the present work, some of Degas’ pictures relating to this subject show women being helped by other figures to comb their hair or dry their bodies, while others focus on the introspective, self-absorbed act of the lone woman. A number of these pastels now hang in museums throughout the world, including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (fig. 1).
The subject of la toilette is one that recurs in Degas' works, first as an innocent theme of female bonding, and subsequently with overtones of the brothel, adding a layer of sensuality to the motif. This latter version was perhaps most evident in the lithographs on the subject which Degas created around 1891. The idea of seeing these informal, private moments of preparation lends a strong atmosphere of intimisme to Degas' images, echoing that of the Nabis, who were active in Paris during the same period. These windows into the lives of women also point to Degas’ admirer, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
In the present work, Degas gives the viewer a privileged glimpse onto an almost secret ritual. Like the dancers who were portrayed off-stage in the frozen seconds of preparation before they plunged into action, Femme se coiffant shows a behind-the-scenes view of a woman grooming herself. As with Degas' pictures on the theme of the ballet, many of his subjects were models who were asked to sustain single poses for lengthy periods of time in order to give Degas the chance to accurately capture a sense of movement suspended in time, here implied in the motion of combing hair. Degas took great care to carefully study and observe his subjects, drawing at once from memory, from imagination, and from reality, in order to create the impression of naturalism. As he explained, “Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see” (quoted in R. Kendall, ed., Degas by Himself, Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Writings, London, 1987, p. 319).
The subject of la toilette is one that recurs in Degas' works, first as an innocent theme of female bonding, and subsequently with overtones of the brothel, adding a layer of sensuality to the motif. This latter version was perhaps most evident in the lithographs on the subject which Degas created around 1891. The idea of seeing these informal, private moments of preparation lends a strong atmosphere of intimisme to Degas' images, echoing that of the Nabis, who were active in Paris during the same period. These windows into the lives of women also point to Degas’ admirer, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
In the present work, Degas gives the viewer a privileged glimpse onto an almost secret ritual. Like the dancers who were portrayed off-stage in the frozen seconds of preparation before they plunged into action, Femme se coiffant shows a behind-the-scenes view of a woman grooming herself. As with Degas' pictures on the theme of the ballet, many of his subjects were models who were asked to sustain single poses for lengthy periods of time in order to give Degas the chance to accurately capture a sense of movement suspended in time, here implied in the motion of combing hair. Degas took great care to carefully study and observe his subjects, drawing at once from memory, from imagination, and from reality, in order to create the impression of naturalism. As he explained, “Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see” (quoted in R. Kendall, ed., Degas by Himself, Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Writings, London, 1987, p. 319).