Lecture 43: Monet and Degas
Finally, we look at The Breakfast after the Bath (c. 1895). This painting was
also a studio setup with hired models. A woman has stepped out of the bath
and is vigorously drying her hair; her stoic maid stands waiting to hand her
mistress a brilliant blue cup. Degas died in a much changed world, with the
First World War raging. He lived his last years in what a friend called “his
vague and grandiose solitude.” He had lived beyond his time. ŶEdgar Degas:
The Bellelli Family, 1858–62, oil on canvas, 6’ 6 ¾” x 8’ 2 ½”
(200 x 250 cm), Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.
The Breakfast after the Bath, c. 1895, pastel and brush drawing,
48 x 36” (121.9 x 91.4 cm), private collection.
The Dancing Class, 1871–72, oil on wood, 7 3/4 x 10 5/8”
(19.7 x 27 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New
York, USA.
L’Absinthe (At the Café), c. 1876, oil on canvas, 36 x 27”
(91.3 x 68.7 cm), Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.
Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879, oil on canvas, 46 x 30 ½”
(116.8 x 77.5 cm), National Gallery, London, Great Britain.
Claude Monet:
Haystacks, End of Summer, 1891, oil on canvas, 23 ¾ x 39 ½”
(60.3 x 100 cm), Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.
La Gare Saint-Lazare (Arrival of a Train), 1877, oil on canvas,
31 ½ x 38 ½” (80.3 x 98.1cm), Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Morning on the Seine, near Giverny, 1897, oil on canvas, 38 3/8 x 29”
(96.5 x 73.6 cm), private collection.
Rouen Cathedral, Morning Sun, Blue Harmony, 1893, oil on canvas,
35 ¾ x 24 ¾” (90.8 x 60.3 cm), Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.Works Discussed