Study for Mme Théodore Gobillard” (née Yves Morisot)”

Description

Yves Morisot sits with her head turned to the right in Edgar Degas’s study for Madame Théodore Gobillard. Light pencil lines follow the broad skirt and the folds of her clothing, while an armrest gives the seated figure a quiet support. The arrangement invites attention to her composed presence, preserving the delicacy of a portrait made through close observation.

Created in 1869, the study depicts the older sister of painter Berthe Morisot. Letters from the family record the sitter’s pleasure in the likeness and her concern that transferring it to canvas might lose its delicacy. The drawing was squared for that next stage, yet it remains absorbing in its own right. Its appeal comes from the meeting of preparation and intimacy, where a working portrait can preserve the immediacy of an artist’s encounter with a sitter.

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