Bookshelves, Study for ‘Edmond Duranty’ 1879

Edgar Degas made this charcoal drawing, “Bookshelves, Study for ‘Edmond Duranty’”, as a preparatory sketch for a portrait of the French novelist and art critic. Degas was a key figure in the Impressionist movement, and like many artists of his time, he was deeply interested in capturing the nuances of modern life. Here, the crammed bookshelves serve as a backdrop which offer insight into the intellectual world of Edmond Duranty, suggesting a man of letters. The books themselves, uniform in their bindings, create a visual rhythm. In this way, the drawing hints at the cultural milieu of 19th-century Paris, where literary salons and intellectual debate flourished. Yet, it also raises questions about access to knowledge and the construction of cultural authority. Whose voices are included in these shelves, and whose are excluded? The drawing invites us to consider the relationship between identity, knowledge, and representation, and prompts us to reflect on our own positions within these complex systems.