Artwork
Woman Drying Her Arm
Woman Drying Her Arm is an unspecified painting by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created in 1896, this work by Edgar Degas is classified as a drawing. The piece depicts a nude figure and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The sheet measures 30.5 cm in height and 44.5 cm in width. The work was formerly owned by Louisine Havemeyer before entering the museum's holdings.
History & Provenance
The drawing titled Woman Drying Her Arm was created by Edgar Degas in 1896. It entered the collection of Louisine Havemeyer, who later donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work is part of the museum's holdings and is catalogued under accession number 29.100.553. Its physical dimensions are 30.5 cm in height and 44.5 cm in width.
Context
Degas's Woman Drying Her Arm (1896), housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was owned by Louisine Havemeyer and entered the museum's collection, reflecting the artist's engagement with intimate domestic subjects and the evolving market for his works. Scholarship highlights its significance within Degas's exploration of the female form beyond overt sensuality, situating it amid his broader thematic concerns and the Impressionist movement's reception in the late 19th century.
Overview
Created in 1896, this oil painting by Edgar Degas portrays a solitary woman in the act of drying her arm after a bath. The work is part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is displayed among the museum’s holdings of late‑19th‑century French art.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures an intimate, everyday gesture: the figure lifts her right arm while her left elbow rests bent, suggesting a moment of private self‑care. Her face is turned away from the viewer, and her hair is neatly pulled back, emphasizing the focus on the body’s relaxed posture rather than personal identity.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
