Woman Brushing Her Hair
Edgar Degas·1884
Historical Context
Painted in 1884, Woman Brushing Her Hair belongs to Degas's celebrated series of intimate female nudes engaged in personal grooming. These works, exhibited at the final Impressionist exhibition in 1886, were described by Degas himself as depicting women as if seen through a keyhole — unaware of the observer, absorbed entirely in their own physical reality. The 1880s series marked a departure from the idealized academic nude: Degas showed ordinary bodies in awkward, functional postures that prioritized honest observation over classical beauty. Now at the Kreeger Museum, this work captures a characteristic moment of private self-care rendered with unsentimental directness.
Technical Analysis
The pose is deliberately unglamorous, the figure twisted in the practical contortion of reaching to brush her own hair. Degas models the body through carefully observed light and shadow, with the warm tones of flesh rendered in varied directional strokes. The handling suggests oil paint applied with controlled urgency, building form through overlapping marks rather than smooth transitions. Background elements are subordinated to keep focus on the physicality of the figure.
