Young Woman in Black

1861/1865

Edgar Degas

Associated Names
Edgar Degas

Artist, French, 1834 - 1917

The image shows an upper-body portrait of a woman seated in a three-quarter pose facing forward. Her head is slightly turned to the left, and her arms are crossed in front of her. She has fair skin, soft facial features, and blue eyes. Her dark brown hair is styled in a smooth fashion, parted in the middle and pinned back. She is wearing a black dress with a high collar, accented by a yellow bow tied at her neckline. The background is a blend of gray and beige with sketch-like brushstrokes.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

  • Dimensions

    overall: 15.5 x 12.8 cm (6 1/8 x 5 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1995.47.31

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lemoisne 1946, no. 100

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

[Paul?] Mathey, Paris; (M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York); Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift to NGA, 1995.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1966

  • French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 224, repro.

1997

  • Building a Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997-1998, no. 134, as Young Woman in Black.

1999

  • An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999-2000.

2016

  • In Celebration of Paul Mellon, NGA, 2016.

Bibliography

1946

  • Lemoisne, Paul André. Degas et son oeuvre. 4 vols. Paris: Arts et metiers graphiques, 1946-1949. Vols. 2 and 3, 1946. Reprinted in 5 vols., New York and London, 1984.

1970

  • Minervino, Fiorella. L'Opera completa di Degas. Milan, 1970: no. 157.

1984

  • Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son Oeuvre. 5 vols, New York (1984): 2: 50-51, no. 100.

Inscriptions

by later hand, lower left verso in graphite: A. 4394

Wikidata ID

Q64556367

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