Leaving the Bath

"Leaving the Bath" is a significant print created by Edgar Degas French, 1834-1917, between 1879 and 1880. This piece exemplifies Degas’s deep commitment to exploring and manipulating printmaking techniques, particularly the difficult combination of drypoint and aquatint executed in black ink on tan wove paper. During this period in France, Degas turned increasingly away from the traditional constraints of oil painting toward drawing and graphic work, seeking new methods to capture motion and atmosphere. He became renowned for depicting intimate, unposed moments of women involved in private acts of toilette, transforming conventionally idealized subject matter into scenes of modern, everyday life.

The drypoint element, created by scratching directly into the plate, yields a rich burr that lends a dynamic, almost sketched quality to the figure and surrounding drapery. Complementing this linear structure, the aquatint provides the subtle, velvety tonal areas necessary to define the shadowed interior space and give volume to the form of the woman. Degas often reworked his plates multiple times, treating each resulting impression as a unique, singular work of art, highlighting his relentless experimentation within the printed medium.

This particular study belongs to a series of powerful, introspective Leaving the Bath images created by Degas that demonstrate the artist’s unique mastery of figure study and his innovative use of texture in graphic media. This essential work of modern European prints is permanently housed in the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.