Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Woman Combing Her Hair
| Date | ca. 1896-99 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | charcoal and pastel on paper |
| Size（cm） | 47.6 x 61.5 |
| Inscriptions | Atelier stamp lower left: Degas |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | Lemoisne 1165; M1518 |
| Category | Drawings |
| Collection Number | D.1959-0010 |
While a woman combing her hair is a most commonplace practice in everyday life, in the history of literature and art, it has traditionally borne a variety of allegorical and sexual connotations. In the 1890s, Degas repeatedly depicted this subject in all kinds of techniques and media. In this particular drawing, the artist makes frequent use of heavy lines to capture the momentary movement of the model combing her hair. By means of mellow gradation in charcoal and reddish brown pastel, the textures of her hair and skin are portrayed in an exquisite manner. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Edgar Degas sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 11–13 December 1918 (second sale), lot 252, as ‘La coiffeuse après la bain’; purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite, ca. January 1919 (Fr. 1,760) [see several letters between Bénédite and Suzuki & Co., January 1919 and purchase auction invoice, in Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris; copy in NMWA curatorial files]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1996
- Degas: beyond Impressionism, The National Gallery, London, 22 May 1996 - 26 August 1996, The Art Institute of Chicago, 28 september 1996-5 january 1997, cat. no. 46, col. repr.
- 2001
- French Masterpiece Drawings from The National Museum of Western Art Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 24 March 2001 - 24 June 2001
- 2012
- Edgar Degas: The Late Work, Fondation Bayeler, Basel, 30 September 2012 - 27 January 2013, p. 115, repr. color
- 2016
- Mary Cassatt, Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 27 September 2016 - 4 December 2016, cat. no. 28, col. repr.
- 2017
- Hokusai and Japonisme, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 21 October 2017 - 28 January 2018, cat. no. 50, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1946
- Lemoisne, Paul-André. Degas et son œuvre. vol. 3, Paris, 1946, pp. 676-677, cat. no. 1165.
- 1955
- La Collection Matsukata. Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 , pl. 10. (in Japanese)
- 1959
- Mizue : a monthly review of the fine arts. no. 650, July 1959, p.[45]. (in Japanese)
- 1959
- Mizue : a monthly review of the fine arts. no. 651, Special Number, July 1959 (in Japanese)
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-89.
- 1978
- Mabuchi, Akiko. Degas. Kodansha, 1978 (Sekai no Sobyou, 24) , no. 24. (in Japanese)
- 1989
- Vente Atelier Edgar Degas. vol. I, San Francisco, 1989 (Paris, 1918), Second Sale, p. 149, no. 252.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 536.
- 1996
- Degas: Beyond Impressionism (exh. cat.). Kendall, Richard. The National Gallery, London, 22 May-26 August 1996; The Art Institute of Chicago, 28 September-5 January 1997. London, National Gallery Publications, c1996, cat. no. 46
- 2012
- Edgar Degas: The Late Work(exh. cat.). Riehen / Basel, Fondation Beyeler, c2012, p. 115, col. repr. (no number)
- 2016
- Mary Cassatt Retrospective (exh. cat.). Yokohama Museum of Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, eds. [Tokyo], NHK, 2016, pp. 56-57, 209, cat. no. 28, col. repr.
- 2019
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 2: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints and Decorative Arts and Other Works, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2019, cat. no. 1518, col. repr.