Woman Combing Her Hair 1894

Edgar Degas created this painting in France probably towards the end of the 19th century. It shows a woman in an intimate moment of grooming. Degas was part of the Impressionist movement, which sought to represent everyday life, often focusing on women and their domestic routines. But this wasn’t just about documenting life; it was about challenging the conventions of academic painting which focused on grand historical or mythological themes, usually of male experience. In this painting, Degas presents a modern woman, caught in a private moment. This approach to subject matter was very modern in its time, and would likely have been dismissed by the French Academy, the most important arbiter of taste in France, as trivial. To truly understand a work like this, we need to delve into the social and artistic context of late 19th-century France. We can research the changing role of women, the rise of Impressionism, and the institutions that shaped artistic taste. This helps us see the painting not just as a pretty picture, but as a reflection of a specific moment in history.