Edgar DegasFrench, 1834–1917Victoria Dubourg
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Victoria Dubourg” now? Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
This drawing is one of several studies that Edgar Degas created for a painted portrait of the artist Victoria Dubourg, now in the collection of the Toledo Museum of Art. Here, Degas concentrated on the facial expression of Dubourg, known for her still-lifes of flowers. Attempting to precisely render Dubourg's direct gaze, Degas drew her eyes in greater detail, even adding an additional sketch along the sheet's upper margin.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1951.483
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
In the life of Edgar Degas
The whole life1862–1864
Meets Édouard Manet
Manet introduced Degas to the circle of future Impressionists. Degas shared their rejection of the academic Salon but would not work in the open air.
1865
Debut at the Salon of 1865
The jury accepted “Scene of War in the Middle Ages”, Degas's first picture in the Salon, which attracted little attention. For the next five years he exhibited annually but sent no more history paintings.
late 1860s
The turn to modern life: racecourses, milliners, laundresses
By the late 1860s Degas had moved from history painting to an original observation of contemporary life: racecourse scenes let him paint horses and riders in a modern setting, and then he turned to women at work — milliners and laundresses.
late 1860s
Begins modelling in wax
Degas modelled small wax figures of dancers, bathers and jockeys for himself, in place of studies. He never worked in bronze or stone; he valued wax for its changeability, and his sculptor friend Bartholomé encouraged him.
