Dimensions 13 x 9 5/8 in. (33.02 x 24.45 cm) (image)19 3/4 × 15 3/4 × 1 1/8 in. (50.17 × 40.01 × 2.86 cm) (outer frame)
Edgar Degas rendered this scene of a woman drying herself using lithography. The intimate act of bathing, often depicted throughout art history, carries complex connotations. Here, the woman's hidden face and vulnerable pose evoke a sense of voyeurism and psychological distance. Yet, consider the ancient Roman bathhouses, social spaces where bodies mingled freely, devoid of shame. Across time, similar motifs appear; think of Renaissance paintings of Susanna surprised at her bath. In each era, the bathing woman embodies both purity and temptation. Our collective memory shapes how we view such images. Subconsciously, we project our own desires and anxieties, engaging in a perpetual dance of attraction and repulsion, proving that even intimate moments carry cultural weight.
Comments
More than any other artist since Rembrandt, Edgar Degas treated the nude as a naked body rather than as an idealized figure. To 19th-century observers, this appeared revolutionary, a rejection of academic tradition based on the sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome. Female bathers, often in natural but awkward poses that to some seemed inappropriate for public display, formed a large part of his artistic production. In his hands, lithography also took on the casual appearance of a sketch rather than a highly finished drawing.
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