At the Mirror 1886

Edgar Degas made this pastel drawing on paper, titled “At the Mirror,” using dry pigments that have a powdery, granular consistency. Degas favored pastel for its immediacy. Unlike oil paint, there’s no need to mix colors or wait for layers to dry. He built up the image through a process of layering, smudging, and blending the pastels directly on the paper’s surface. You can see the marks left by his fingers. The texture of the paper itself plays a crucial role. The tooth, or roughness, of the paper allows the pastel particles to adhere. This gives the drawing a soft, almost hazy quality, perfectly suited to the intimate subject matter: a woman attending to her toilette. Degas elevates the medium of pastel, traditionally associated with preparatory sketches, to a level of artistic expression on par with painting. By focusing on process and materiality, we gain a deeper understanding of his work, challenging the traditional hierarchy between craft and fine art.