Woman Seated on a Bench 1885

Edgar Degas made this pastel drawing of a woman on a bench, sometime in the late 19th century. The medium of pastel is interesting here. It’s often considered a preparatory medium, used for sketches, not resolved works of art. Degas’s embrace of pastel allowed him to build up subtle layers of color. The powdery pigment allows for soft, hazy effects, seen here in the woman's dress and the background. You can see the physical effort of his making, the marks of the sticks of color dragged across the paper. Pastels allowed Degas to work quickly, capturing fleeting moments and impressions. This connects to the labor of the woman depicted, perhaps a worker taking a brief rest. Degas elevates this ordinary moment through his skillful use of materials, blurring boundaries between fine art and everyday life. He reminds us that art is not just about the subject, but about the act of creation itself.