Paule Gobillard, Jeannie Gobillard, Julie Manet, and Geneviève Mallarmé

Paule Gobillard, Jeannie Gobillard, Julie Manet, and Geneviève Mallarmé is a striking gelatin silver print created by Edgar Degas in 1895. This classification as a photograph highlights Degas’s intense engagement with the medium in his later years, moving beyond his traditional focus on painting and pastel.

The work captures four key figures intimately connected to the French artistic and literary avant-garde of the era. These subjects are significant examples of prominent Parisian women in the late nineteenth century social sphere. Julie Manet was the daughter of the Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot and Eugène Manet, while Geneviève Mallarmé was the daughter of the Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. The Gobillard sisters, Paule and Jeannie, were also closely related to the Morisot-Manet family. Degas used the camera not merely for documentation but for experimental portraiture, often focusing on intimate, unposed groupings that convey a sense of immediacy and informality.

This photograph exemplifies the private social circle of the Impressionist generation as it transitioned into the twentieth century. Degas, known primarily for his dynamic studies of dancers and bathers, leveraged the camera’s ability to capture candid moments outside the studio. The specific use of the gelatin silver process, a popular and robust medium of the 1890s, allowed Degas to manipulate light and shadow dramatically, achieving stark contrasts unattainable in his painted works. Degas frequently employed harsh, artificial lighting for these late-period compositions. This unique depiction of these influential young women offers valuable insight into the fin-de-siècle culture of Paris. The original print of Paule Gobillard, Jeannie Gobillard, Julie Manet, and Geneviève Mallarmé is held within the esteemed permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.