Study for Vieille Italienne (recto); Drapery Study (verso)

Study for Vieille Italienne (recto); Drapery Study (verso) is a compelling graphite drawing created by Edgar Degas in 1856 during his formative years studying classical art in Italy. This double-sided preparatory sheet exemplifies the young artist’s dedication to mastering both naturalistic portraiture and classical form. The principal study on the recto, Vieille Italienne (Old Italian Woman), captures a subject characterized by the profound sense of sadness etched into her features.

Degas uses the sensitive medium of graphite to articulate the contours of the woman’s face, focusing particularly on the heavy weight of her gaze and the downturned lines of her mouth. This emphasis on the psychological state of the sitter offers an early glimpse into the artist's lifelong interest in the private emotional lives of women, a theme he would revisit throughout his career.

The meticulous technique employed in the piece reflects Degas’s rigorous classical training and his commitment to foundational study. While the recto concentrates on psychological depth, the verso provides a foundational exercise: a detailed Drapery Study. Such studies were common practice, allowing artists to understand how light interacts with folded fabric, a critical skill for accurately rendering figures and clothing in subsequent oil paintings or academic compositions. This sheet, dating to a crucial period of Degas’s early artistic development, remains an important resource for scholars of the artist’s methodology and is held in the renowned drawing collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although this preparatory sketch was not widely circulated in its time, contemporary interest ensures that high-quality prints reflecting the artist’s early mastery of line are often sought after by collectors and art historians alike.