Portrait of Hortense Valpinçon (Mme. Jacques Fourchy)

The Portrait of Hortense Valpinçon (Mme. Jacques Fourchy) by Edgar Degas, executed in 1883, is a striking example of the artist’s mastery of graphic media. Classified as a drawing, the work is rendered using black conté crayon, a medium Degas favored for its rich tonal range and ability to capture spontaneous gestures. This piece belongs to a refined series of portraits of women subjects from the Parisian bourgeoisie, particularly those connected to the Impressionist circle. Hortense Valpinçon, the sitter, was the daughter of Degas’s close friend and patron, Paul Valpinçon, lending the drawing an intimate, informal quality reflecting their long association.

Degas expertly employs the conté crayon to balance careful detail with a subtle looseness. The medium allows for the creation of velvety deep shadows, defining the contours of the face and clothing, while the quick, decisive lines used elsewhere suggest movement and vitality. Unlike the static, official portraits of the time, this drawing captures the subject in an unposed, reflective state, demonstrating Degas's enduring commitment to depicting modern life and the psychological depth of his sitters.

The focus on individual women and their interior lives places this portrait firmly within the context of 19th-century French Realism and Impressionism. While the piece stands alone as a finished work, the immediacy of the technique echoes the sensibility of a preparatory study. Today, this significant example of portraiture is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a crucial reference point for understanding Degas’s technical evolution in drawing, alongside the museum's extensive holdings of his prints and related works.