The Convalescent, Edgar Degas, about 1872–January 1887
Edgar Degas, retratoEdgar DegasFrança, 1834–1917

The Convalescent

about 1872–January 1887 · Painting · 65.7 × 49.8 cm

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Although the identity of the sitter in this portrait is a mystery, Edgar Degas conveyed her character by capturing the overwhelming sorrow to which she has succumbed. Posed with her head tilted and leaning against the back of her left hand, she appears weary. Her languorous expression and red-rimmed eyes, together with the limp right arm hanging at her side, suggest a physical or emotional malady, though nothing in the painting confirms the cause of her affliction. Hidden beneath a brown robe and full white gown, her pose is ambiguous; it is unclear if she sits, stands, or leans. *The Convalescent* attests to Degas's interest in the world of women--their physical characteristics and surroundings, and their complex emotional and psychological conditions.

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Unlike traditional nineteenth-century portraits, which were commissioned and usually left the artist's studio upon completion, this depiction of an unidentified woman remained in Degas's studio for at least fifteen years. The painting is unconventional in other ways as well; *The Convalescent* is more psychologically suggestive and spatially ambiguous than typical portraits of the time, such as Franz Xaver Winterhalter's official portrait, *Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.* Degas's thick, unblended brushstrokes and flattened space bring the figure forward, conveying informality and intimacy.

Museu J. Paul Getty

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Número de inventário
2002.57

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Fontes

Na vida de Edgar Degas

A vida inteira
  1. 1870

    A volunteer in the war; a flaw in his eyesight

    When the Franco-Prussian War broke out Degas volunteered; at the first shooting practice it turned out that he saw poorly with his right eye. It was the first sign of the macular degeneration that left him almost blind at the end of his life; he was transferred to the artillery and served there to the end of the war.

  2. outubro de 1872 – março de 1873 · Residência

    New Orleans

  3. 1873–1874

    His brother's debts: he sells his house and collection

    After his father's death Degas learned that his brother René had run up enormous business debts. To save the family's reputation he sold his house and an inherited art collection and for the first time in his life depended on sales of his own work.

  4. 1874

    The first Impressionist exhibition

    Disenchanted with the Salon, Degas joined a group of young artists organizing an independent exhibiting society. He took a leading role in organizing the eight shows of 1874–1886 and exhibited in all but one, despite constant conflicts with the group.

  5. 1881

    “The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” on show

    The nearly life-size wax figure with real hair and a cloth tutu, modelled on Marie van Goethem, provoked a strong reaction: critics found its realism extraordinary, but many denounced the dancer as ugly. It was the only sculpture Degas showed in his lifetime.

  6. by 1882

    His eyesight sharply worsens

    By 1882 Degas's eyesight began to worsen sharply: he turned to pastel and then to sculpture, where he could rely more on touch.

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