Italienne (Gaëta)

The artwork Italienne (Gaëta), created by Edgar Degas French, 1834–1917 between 1856 and 1857, captures the artist during his formative years traveling across Italy. Though classified as a print within the collection records, the piece is fundamentally a detailed graphite drawing that highlights Degas’s rigorous academic training and early focus on figure studies. The young artist employed graphite, meticulously applied with stumping to achieve subtle shading and depth, utilizing the distinct blue wove paper, which features integrated blue fibers, to lend a cool, ambient atmosphere to the subject.

This study, likely executed during Degas’s stay in Gaëta, demonstrates the French artistic tradition of precise draftsmanship. The nuanced application of graphite, occasionally supplemented by a light touch of red chalk, reveals Degas’s precocious skill in modeling form. The original drawing is perimeter-mounted on cream wove paper wrapped around millboard, a conservation effort preserving the work’s fragile state. This early piece is a significant example of the artist’s development before his impressionist period, foreshadowing the naturalist interests that would define his later career. The work resides in the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, contributing to the museum's comprehensive holdings of 19th-century French masters. Such historical prints and drawings, due to their age, often enter the public domain, making high-quality reference material readily available for scholars worldwide.