The Cleveland Museum of Art (spacer)
Special Exhibitions
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French Master Drawings
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French Master Drawings

Highlights of the Exhibition


Edgar Degas (Paris 1834-1917). <I>Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman</I>, 1856.
Edgar Degas (1834-1917).
Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman, 1856.
Graphite; 462 x 307 mm
Collection of Muriel Butkin
[cat. no. 38]

Edgar Degas
Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman

This sheet of head studies unites three fundamental characteristics of Degas's art: consummate draftsmanship, captured movement and expression, and an almost obsessive attention to the attitudes of the female figure. Drawn in 1856 during his first trip to Italy, the sheet represents the model in successive positions and expressions of suffering. The name inscribed at the upper right-Rita Cacciala-must be that of the model. Writing models' names and addresses on figure studies was a common practice among artists, providing them with a handy reference of models they might want to contact for future use.

Page 11 of 15 | On the next page: Camille Corot
Landscape (The Large Tree)