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Edgar Degas

Two Seated Women

Maker

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)

Title

Two Seated Women

Year

ca. 1878

Medium

  • Pastel on blue laid paper (now faded)

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Pastel on blue laid paper (now faded)

Materials

pastel (crayon)

Dimensions

30.9 x 47 cm (12 3/16 x 18 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed, in graphite, at LR: Degas. Watermark: PL BAS on primary support. Stamped, on verso, on mount: CH. POTTIEM / Emballeur / 14, Rue Gaillon Paris.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of the Museum Committee in Appreciation of John Maxon's Directorship

Object Number

59.111

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Publications

  • Journal

A Note on Degas

  • 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

Exhibition History

Inventing Impressionism
Oct 21, 2016 – Jun 11, 2017

Label copy

As in Ballet Girl, Degas used blue chalk to indicate shadows in this sketch. These two women were probably also performers at the Paris Ballet, where Degas often found his models. He made quick sketches from life-both at the ballet and in his studio-which he then incorporated into later painted compositions, focusing on specific areas or aspects of their form.

The contrast between the color and finish of the busts of the two women seen here suggests that their shawls might have been Degas’s primary interest, explaining the rough and unfinished rendering of the rest of their bodies.

Changing Poses
The Artist's Model
Nov 12, 2010 – Jun 06, 2011

Label copy

To create scores of drawings, pastels, paintings, and sculptures of ballet dancers, Edgar Degas hired young women from the Paris Ballet as his models. They posed in his studio, and based on sketches in charcoal and pastel, such as this, he composed larger finished scenes with groups of figures performing or rehearsing on stage or in an imagined studio space. On the left, the outlines of the model’s shoulders are visible beneath the red shawl, suggesting that Degas instructed his

model to sit in the same position multiple times in various states of dress. His sketches helped him to master anatomy, posture, and light before exploring the

relationship of the body to the clothes. Degas’s notes suggest that this particular model may be Nellie Franklin, a young English dancer then working in Paris. Little is known about Franklin’s biography and career, but it is likely that she was one of many young women from impoverished backgrounds who were apprenticed to the ballet at an early age.

Edgar Degas
Six Friends at Dieppe
Sep 16, 2005 – Jan 15, 2006
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)
Two Seated Women, ca. 1878
Pastel on blue laid paper (now faded)
30.9 x 47 cm (12 3/16 x 18 1/2 inches)
Gift of the Museum Committee in Appreciation of John Maxon's Directorship 59.111

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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