The Little Dressing Room
1879–80
Medium
Drypoint on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 11.9 × 7.9 cm (4 11/16 × 3 1/8 in.); Sheet: 30.4 × 21.9 cm (12 × 8 5/8 in.)
Classification
drypoint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75075
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate backstage world of Edgar Degas *The Little Dressing Room* (1879–80), a delicate drypoint print on cream laid paper housed in the Art Institute of's Prints and Drawings collection. Measuring just 11.9 × 7.9 cm, this gem captures Degas's lifelong fascination with ballet dancers in moments of quiet preparation, a recurring theme in his oeuvre. As a leading figure in Impressionism, Degas shifted focus from grand public spectacles to the private, everyday rituals of performers, offering glimpses into Parisian theater life during the Belle Époque. Degas's mastery shines throu...
About the Artist
Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas · 1834–1917
Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas, born on July 19, 1834, in Paris to a prosperous banking family, was the eldest of five children. His mother, Célestine Musson, a Creole from New Orleans whose father Germain Musson had roots in Haiti, died when Degas was thirteen, leaving his father Augustin and unmarried uncles to guide him. Educated at the elite Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where he earned a baccalauréat in...