Study for "Mary Cassatt at the Louvre" [verso]

Study for "Mary Cassatt at the Louvre" [verso] by Edgar Degas, created in 1879, is a significant example of the artist's exploratory approach to drawing techniques during the key period of 1876 to 1900. This piece, classified as a drawing, utilizes the highly nuanced process of carbon and softground wax transfer on wove paper. Degas frequently experimented with transfer monotype methods, blending traditional drawing media with printmaking to achieve subtle tonal variations and textural effects, often working both the recto and verso of his sheets.

This work relates directly to the preparation for the celebrated composition depicting Mary Cassatt, the American expatriate painter, observing artwork within the grand Parisian museum. While the verso may hold less defined figures than the more resolved recto composition, it offers vital insight into Degas’s compositional planning and his sophisticated use of line to define space and implied volume. As a foundational figure in French modern art, Degas consistently explored themes of contemporary life, focusing on subjects often overlooked in classical painting, such as women in social settings, whether the ballet studio or the museum interior depicted in the main study, Mary Cassatt at the Louvre.

The delicate rendering achieved through the carbon and wax transfer highlights the immediacy of Degas’s vision, capturing a moment of quiet observation. Though typically preparatory, studies such as this stand independently as masterful drawings in their own right, revealing the French artist's dedication to draftsmanship over mere surface effect. This drawing is permanently housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, where it contributes to the comprehensive documentation of Degas’s varied approaches to the human figure. As an artwork from the late 19th century, it is frequently reproduced as high-quality museum prints and enters the artistic record, occasionally becoming accessible for wider educational use through public domain initiatives.