Woman Combing Her Hair 1894

Edgar Degas made this image of a Woman Combing Her Hair with pastel, likely on paper, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Pastel is an interesting choice. It lies between drawing and painting, and has an immediacy that suited Degas' interest in fleeting moments. The powdery pigment is bound loosely, allowing for rich color and a velvety texture. You can see how Degas has built up layers, hatching and blending to create a sense of form and light. The visible strokes add energy to the image, capturing the woman's movement as she attends to her hair. Degas was fascinated by the everyday lives of women, and in doing so, elevated a humble, domestic scene to the realm of fine art. There is a lot of labor involved in that kind of activity. By using pastel, a readily available and relatively inexpensive material, he blurred the lines between high art and the crafts of daily life. It reminds us that art can be found in the most unexpected places, and that the materials we use shape how we see the world.