Combing the Hair 1895

Editor: This is "Combing the Hair," a pastel drawing by Edgar Degas from 1896. It gives off such a private, almost voyeuristic feeling, and I’m immediately drawn to how the diagonal lines intersect to create a sense of dynamic tension. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a meticulous orchestration of form and color, entirely divorced from narrative. Disregard the title for a moment, and examine the formal relationships. Note the repetition of curvilinear forms—the arc of the woman's arm mirrors the curve of her back and the flow of her hair. Consider the colour composition and how the orange dominates and then yields to the cooler green tones that define a counter-rhythm. It's almost as though colour is used as a musical note, a crescendo in chromatic intensity. Do you observe a similar dialogue of form and line at play? Editor: I do! The warm tones definitely seem to push forward, while the green areas recede, creating spatial depth despite it being a fairly flat surface. What effect did the artist intend with this? Curator: That’s an excellent question. The flattening of pictorial space directs us to consider formal arrangement. It presents an engagement between planar surface and implied depth. Ask yourself how the dynamic placement of form and line and color constructs spatial relationships which activate a visual and visceral response? This semiotic reading isolates the work in its constructional qualities. Editor: So, the emotional or narrative content takes a backseat to how the forms interact with each other and activate the picture plane itself? Curator: Precisely. The objective here is to appreciate its structural ingenuity of compositional organization as an exercise in form. Editor: That is a great point. It has given me much to consider by focusing strictly on form and colour, instead of the scene depicted. Curator: Absolutely, the artwork transcends the simple subject matter depicted. Concentrating on semiotic readings can provide different approaches to deciphering it.