Woman Combing Her Hair

Woman Combing Her Hair is an arresting drawing created by Edgar Degas between 1888 and 1890. Executed in vibrant pastel, the work utilized light green wove paper that has naturally discolored over time to a warm gray hue, characteristic of period works mounted on pulpboard. Degas was a master of the pastel medium, using its immediacy to capture fleeting moments of domestic life. In this particular instance, the heavy application of chalky pigments lends the figure a powerful, sculptural quality, moving beyond the light impressions of his earlier career towards a more robust, expressionistic form.

The subject matter exemplifies Degas’s late Impressionist fascination with private feminine rituals, offering an unidealized depiction of a female nude engaged in self-care. Rather than focusing on classical mythology or overt sensuality, the piece centers on the intimate, mundane activity of combing her hair, an act elevated by the artist’s dramatic cropping and bold compositional choices. These powerful studies, often classified as drawings due to the speed and material used, reveal Degas's evolving commitment to capturing movement and form observed without the sitter’s awareness.

This highly finished composition is part of the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The large scale and intensity of the coloring suggest the piece functioned either as a preparatory study for a larger oil painting or as a finished gallery work in its own right. As a key example of the artist’s mature technique, this depiction of the female nude remains highly influential. Because the original artwork is now firmly in the public domain due to its age, high-quality prints and references to this masterful drawing are widely accessible for study and appreciation worldwide.