At the Milliner's
1882
Medium
Pastel on pale gray wove paper (industrial wrapping paper), laid down on silk bolting
Dimensions
30 x 34 in. (76.2 x 86.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.38
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 19th-century Paris with Edgar Degas's *At the Milliner's (1882), a pastel that freezes a moment in a hat shop. Degas, a master of the Impressionist movement distinct for his preference for intimate indoor scenes, portrays women absorbed in the feminine ritual of hat selection. The composition buzzes with subtle energy—figures poised in contemplation amid a flurry of elaborate millinery—evoking the everyday glamour of Parisian bourgeoisie life during the Belle Époque. Rendered on unconventional pale gray wove paper (recycled industrial wrapping), this large-scale...
About the Artist
Edgar Degas · 1834–1917
Edgar Degas (1834-1917) stands as one of the most innovative artists of the nineteenth century, whose distinctive vision transformed how modern life could be depicted on canvas. Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas in Paris to a wealthy banking family—his father French, his mother a Louisiana Creole from New Orleans—Degas received a classical education before abandoning law studies in 1855 to pursue ...