After the Bath (La sortie du bain (Petite planche))

After the Bath (La sortie du bain (Petite planche)) is a significant print created by Edgar Degas in 1891. This intimate depiction of a woman attending to her toilette is executed as a lithograph on laid paper, a medium that allowed Degas to explore tonal variation, textural density, and broad, fluid forms distinct from his better-known pastel and oil works. The classification of the piece as a Print highlights the French artist’s deep commitment to the graphic arts, a pursuit he often undertook late in his career as a way to refine compositional ideas and achieve rich, velvety black tones.

Created during the influential period spanning 1876 to 1900, this lithograph reflects Degas’s primary thematic concern: the unposed, private lives of women. Unlike traditional idealized nudes, the figures in the artist's bath scenes are viewed candidly, focusing on the everyday reality of movement, posture, and the relationship between the body and its domestic environment. The work captures a moment immediately following immersion, possibly showing the figure drying herself or simply transitioning from the tub.

Degas’s prints are crucial to understanding his later artistic development, offering insights into his formal experiments with line, light, and shadow. His engagement with lithography during this era demonstrates his persistent quest to push the boundaries of artistic representation, moving far beyond the scope of traditional Impressionism. This impression of After the Bath is housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, serving as a powerful example of Degas’s graphic mastery and his pivotal role in modernizing French art during the late nineteenth century. The accessibility of such important historical prints today also supports global scholarly study.