After the Bath

After the Bath is a late-career masterwork by Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917, executed between 1895 and 1905. This piece belongs to a powerful series of intimate studies depicting the female figure engaged in private acts of toilette, a critical thematic exploration for the artist in France during this period. Degas consistently sought new methods to capture the truth of the body unposed, moving away from the ephemeral nature of earlier Impressionism toward more structured, internal explorations of form and expressive line. The work’s official classification as a print reflects its historical handling or preparation for exhibition, though the material application is distinctively that of drawing.

The technical sophistication of the piece lies in its unconventional handling of medium. The nuanced texture and deep tonal complexity were achieved through charcoal and wetted charcoal, applied directly to tan wove tracing paper. Degas employed advanced techniques such as stumping and precise manipulation with a wetted brush to create diffuse shadows and soft, blended contours, demonstrating the fluidity between drawing and painting practices common during the 1890s and early 1900s. This technique gave the charcoal a painterly quality, enhancing the sense of atmosphere and form. The support paper was subsequently laid down on a cream wove card for stability. This significant composition, illustrating the mastery of the artist’s late style, is maintained in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.