The Artist's Cousin, Probably Mrs. William Bell (Mathilde Musson, 1841–1878)

Degas was deeply connected to New Orleans through his mother's Creole family — the Mussons — and visited Louisiana in 1872–73. This pastel portrait of his cousin Mathilde Musson, done after his return to Paris, belongs to the group of portraits recording his American relatives during that formative visit. The use of pastel for portraiture was still relatively unusual for serious French painters in 1873, but Degas increasingly favoured the medium for its speed and luminosity. Mathilde, who died young in 1878, is shown in a characteristic Degas pose — slightly averted, caught in an unguarded moment — reflecting his discomfort with conventional posed portraiture.

Degas renders the figure in delicate pastel layers over toned paper. The face receives the most careful finish, with soft blending of flesh tones, while the background and costume are more sketchily indicated. The tonal range from deep shadow to pale highlight is achieved through careful colour overlay rather than black.