Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). <em>Nude Woman Drying Herself (Femme au Tub)</em>, ca. 1884-1886. Oil on canvas, 59 3/8 x 84 1/8 in. (150.8 x 213.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 31.813 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 31.813_PS9.jpg)

Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). Nude Woman Drying Herself (Femme au Tub), ca. 1884-1886. Oil on canvas, 59 3/8 x 84 1/8 in. (150.8 x 213.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 31.813 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 31.813_PS9.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Nude Woman Drying Herself (Femme au Tub)

Edgar Degas

European Art

On View: European Art Galleries, 5th floor

Rather than posing his models for bathing compositions, Edgar Degas simply asked them to wash themselves in a studio basin so that he could observe their natural movements. Though at this time baths were more common among sex workers than bourgeois women and this painting recalls some of the artist’s brothel subjects, it is unlikely that Degas meant to attach any particular identity to this figure.

The image is thought to be the underdrawing for an ambitious but unfinished painting, and therefore provides insight into Degas’s working process. First using brushes and cloths to establish broad outlines and tonal relationships in monochrome, he would then add color.

ARTIST Edgar Degas, Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

Place Made: France

DATES ca. 1884-1886

DIMENSIONS 59 3/8 x 84 1/8 in. (150.8 x 213.7 cm) frame: 67 5/8 x 93 1/8 x 4 3/8 in., 198 lb. (171.8 x 236.5 x 11.1 cm, 89.81kg) (show scale)

MARKINGS Stamped lower right: "Degas" (Lugt 658)

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 31.813

CREDIT LINE Carll H. de Silver Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in European Art Galleries, 5th floor

CAPTION Edgar Degas (Paris, France, 1834–1917, Paris, France). Nude Woman Drying Herself (Femme au Tub), ca. 1884-1886. Oil on canvas, 59 3/8 x 84 1/8 in. (150.8 x 213.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 31.813 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 31.813_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 31.813_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.