Head and Shoulders of a Young Woman in Profile I

Description

Edgar Degas’s Head and Shoulders of a Young Woman in Profile I brings a bowed head into a closely cropped printed study. The face turns right beneath a dark hat, while the shoulders are more lightly indicated below. Strong diagonal marks cross the image, contrasting with the quieter contours of the figure. The portrait remains visible through them, its lowered profile preserving an intimate human presence.

Designed around 1879, the softground etching survives here in an impression printed from a canceled plate, which accounts for the crossing marks. The technique retains a drawing-like character, giving the woman’s head a direct, searching quality. The contrast between the figure and the plate’s later cancellation makes this impression particularly distinctive. It records both the original study and a change in the physical printing surface, without turning the diagonal lines into part of the sitter’s pose.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Edgar Degas collection.