After the Bath

Degas's late series of women bathing in shallow tubs constitute one of the most intimate and formally radical sequences in Western art. Observed from above, from behind, from angles that deny conventional voyeurism, these figures are caught in unselfconscious private moments. The 1895 pastel technique — hatched strokes of brilliant color built up through multiple layers — achieves a chromatic richness and tactile quality that transforms what could be mere documentation into formal poetry His commitment to draftsmanship and formal innovation set him apart from the more purely optical concerns of his Impressionist colleagues.

Degas favored unconventional cropping and asymmetric compositions drawn from photography and Japanese prints. He worked in pastel as frequently as oil, building luminous surface through hatched strokes and fixative layers.