Art Analysis
Woman with a Towel
A few years ago, I was starting a new journey in my life, and I had the opportunity to travel to New York and walk around the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a few hours. Out of all the fantastic pieces of art, I could not stop staring at this pastel drawing by Edgar Degas.
I wanted to be this woman who appeared confident that she could get out of the bath and let Degas draw her. Granted, this woman was a prostitute, but when I saw her for the first time, I had not studied Degas and had no idea who she was. It didn’t matter to me what her profession was or her social class. It was a simple pastel drawing but had so much meaning and power.
There are several things to look for when analyzing a work of art. The visual elements are line, shape, tone, color, pattern, texture, and form. I thought I would break down a few of these elements as we looked at this painting.
LINE
The foundation of most art is the line work. In this pastel oil drawing, Degas uses soft subtle lines in the background and contrasts it with the black outline over the pastels to emphasize the beautiful naked women.
SHAPE
The placement of the women's shoulders and the towel give a circular shape drawing your eye to the center of the woman and her beautiful figure.
TONE
The curves of the women and the towel give a feeling of comfort and ease and are in complementary contrast with the background of straight vertical lines.
COLOR
The beautiful shades of cool blue contrasting against the yellow background give balance to this piece.
TEXTURE
Degas's technique was to use his fingers, brushes, and sharp implements to scape, smudge, and polish the pastels. This process created a sense of movement and texture.
If you would like to learn more about Edgar Degas and his work.
I found a few interesting articles for your studies.
