Degas and Évariste de Valernes c. 1860s

Edgar Degas made this oil painting with the collaboration of Évariste de Valernes, portraying two men in a muted, bourgeois setting. The painting is built up of brushstrokes; one can almost imagine Degas at work in his studio applying layer upon layer of pigment onto the canvas. Look closely, and you will see that Degas chose a limited palette of blacks, whites, and grays, with touches of brown and ochre. These colors add to the subdued, serious mood of the composition, which is typical of realist painting. However, Degas was equally concerned with representing the modern world as he was with challenging the established traditions of the French art academy. The brushwork and muted tones suggest a world of labor, one that's more interested in direct observation, and in depicting the textures and tones that would be typical of everyday life for most Parisians. By considering the materiality and process of this artwork, we can more fully understand not only Degas' artistic intentions, but also the social and cultural context in which he was working.