A Woman Ironing
Edgar Degas, 1873
About this artwork
In Edgar Degas' *A Woman Ironing* (1873), an oil on canvas measuring 21⅜ × 15½ inches, we glimpse the quiet intensity of everyday labor. Painted during the early years of Impressionism—a movement Degas helped shape alongside Monet and Renoir—this intimate work captures a working-class woman absorbed in her task, iron in hand. Degas, fascinated by modern urban life, often depicted women in domestic roles, elevating the mundane through his keen observation of posture, gesture, and light. The painting's modest scale and oil medium allowed Degas to experiment with loose, expressive brushwork and unconventional cropping, hallmarks of his realist-inflected Impressionist style. Rather than idealized beauty, he portrayed the physical strain of ironing—bent back, focused gaze—highlighting the dignity and drudgery of 19th-century Parisian working women. This piece reflects broader social shifts, as industrialization drew women into visible labor roles. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings department, thanks to the H.O. Havemeyer Collection bequest in 1929, *A Woman Ironing* invites us to appreciate Degas' empathy for the overlooked. A poignant study in human resilience, it reminds visitors of art's power to honor ordinary lives.