1880
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Actresses in Their Dressing Rooms is a 1880 ink by Edgar Degas, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows two women in a dim, cluttered room. One sits bent over, her back to us, while the other stands facing a mirror. The walls are lined with rough wooden panels, and the light is soft, like a stage backstage. Their clothes look simple but carefully arranged—one wears a loose dress, the other a hat. Notice how the artist used dark lines to show texture, almost like scratching into the paper. The scene feels private, like a moment caught between performances. Look up etching to see how artists like Degas made prints this way.
Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris, Edgar Degas came from an affluent banking family with aristocratic roots and spent his childhood among the cultivated circles of the French capital.
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