Leaving the Bath

Leaving the Bath is a significant print created by Edgar Degas between 1879 and 1880, executed using the demanding combined techniques of drypoint and aquatint on wove paper. This particular impression represents the fifteenth documented state in a complex development process involving twenty-two or more distinct stages, illustrating Degas’s deep dedication to graphic experimentation and his methodical approach to composition. Unlike many of his contemporary Impressionists, Degas employed printmaking to explore intimate domestic scenes, particularly focusing on the female figure in unguarded moments.

The subject matter centers on the moment a female nude emerges from a bath, captured in a candid pose of private ablution. Degas rigorously avoided the mythological idealization common in academic depictions of the nude, choosing instead to depict the body in real, functional movements. This focus on the unposed figure became a signature element of his later graphic works and pastels. The textural richness achieved through the aquatint process allows the work to create deep, velvety shadows that enhance the sense of immediacy and isolation surrounding the subject.

This study is highly regarded among 19th-century French prints and is currently held in the comprehensive collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painstaking process of revising the plate across numerous states underscores the artist's commitment to capturing movement and light through line and tone. Although high-resolution images of this work may now be widely available through public domain initiatives, the original medium demands close examination to appreciate Degas’s unparalleled technical mastery in the graphic arts.