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Edgar Degas

La Savoisienne
Now On View

Maker

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)

Title

La Savoisienne

Year

ca. 1860

Medium

  • Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Oil on canvas

Materials

oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

62.9 x 46.4 cm (24 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Signed UL:Degas

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

23.072

Type

  • Paintings

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by Bernheim-Jeune around April 1903; 10/20/1906, Purchased by Durand-Ruel, Paris/New York [1]; 5/9/1923, Purchased by the RISD Museum, Providence RI

Publications

  • Books

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

  • Books

European Paintings and Sculpture, ca. 1770 - 1937

  • Books

Exchange Exhibition, Exhibition Exchange: From the Collection of Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; From the Collection of The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.

  • Books

Edgar Degas: Six Friends At Dieppe

  • Books

Selected Works

Articles

Understanding Art Through Thumbnail Sketching

Exhibition History

European Galleries
Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

This painting depicts a young girl from Savoy, a mountainous region adjacent to Italy and Switzerland that was annexed by France in 1860. Female figures in regional clothing were popular subjects in 19th-century art, but they were unusual in the works of Edgar Degas.

Early in his career, Degas spent three years in Italy, visiting family and studying Renaissance art. Here, recalling the techniques and appearance of 16th-century Florentine portraiture, Degas carefully drew and modeled the young girl’s head. He then opposed these traditional methods of construction with wide, loose brushstrokes that suggest the dense, pleated folds of her coif (linen headdress) and the softer textures of her collar and dress.

Inventing Impressionism
Oct 21, 2016 – Jun 11, 2017
Edgar Degas
Six Friends at Dieppe
Sep 16, 2005 – Jan 15, 2006
European Painting and Sculpture, circa 1770-1937
Oct 18, 1991 – Jan 26, 1992
Exchange Exhibition of Paintings from Rose Museum, Brandeis University
Feb 16, 1967 – Apr 02, 1967

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)
La Savoisienne, ca. 1860
Oil on canvas
62.9 x 46.4 cm (24 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 23.072

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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