Description
Degas’s Study for Madame Théodore Gobillard presents a woman seated on a couch, her body turned slightly while her face addresses the front. Her hands gather in her lap, and the surrounding upholstery is lightly outlined. The drawing identifies the sitter as Yves Morisot. Graphite gives firmer attention to the figure than to parts of the furniture, letting the person emerge from an arrangement that is still being worked out.
Dated 1869, the sheet preserves part of the preparation for a portrait. A study can hold onto a particular pose or expression while leaving the surrounding composition unresolved. Here the named sitter gives the drawing a personal focus, but its unfinished quality is equally important. It lets us attend to the decisions through which a portrait takes shape, finding presence in the contrast between a few firm marks and the quieter paper around them.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Edgar Degas collection.
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