The Tub

The Tub, a pastel from 1886 now at the Musée d'Orsay, is the most radical of the bathing women Degas exhibited at the final eighth Impressionist exhibition and one of the most discussed works in the entire movement. Shown in a series of ten pastels depicting women bathing, drying themselves, and combing their hair, The Tub presents its subject from a steep overhead viewpoint — as if the viewer is looking directly down into a shallow round tub. The figure is seen from above and behind, her body curling forward in the intimate act of bathing. The perspective is almost entirely without precedent in Western art: the human figure viewed from directly overhead rather than from a conventional eye-level position.

The overhead perspective creates a near-abstract flattening of the round tub against the floor — its circular form becoming a compositional element as much as a depicted object. Degas uses the strong circular shape of the tub to anchor the composition. The figure's body is rendered in warm, overlaid pastel strokes that model flesh tones with chromatic richness. The cool blue-grey of the water inside the tub contrasts with the warm wooden floor and towels. His handling of the difficult foreshortening is masterful.