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Marie Dihau (1843–1935)

1867–68
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 815

Marie Dihau was a successful pianist and singer who lived in Lille but often came to Paris to perform. She recalled that Degas executed this portrait quickly at a restaurant. Shown in sharp profile, wedged between the remnants of a finished meal and a carpetbag, the sitter—a traveling musician whom Degas typically caught on the run—effectively makes a cameo appearance in this compelling character study.　

Her brother Désiré, a bassoonist for the Paris Opéra, is the second figure from the left in Degas’s The Ballet from "Robert le Diable" (29.100.552).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marie Dihau (1843–1935)
  • Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
  • Date: 1867–68
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 8 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. (22.2 x 27.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.100.182
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Young Woman with Her Hand over Her Mouth, Edgar Degas French, Oil colors freely mixed with turpentine on canvas
Young Woman with Her Hand over Her Mouth
Edgar Degas
ca. 1875
Huit Sonnets. . .Illustré de dix-nuef dessins inédits de Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Wittenborn and Co., La Jeune Parque
1946
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl, Edgar Degas French, Aquatint, drypoint, and etching; printed from canceled plate
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl
Edgar Degas
ca. 1879
At the Café des Ambassadeurs, Edgar Degas French, Etching, softground, drypoint, and aquatint; fifth (final) state; canceled plate
At the Café des Ambassadeurs
Edgar Degas
1879–80
Greek Landscape, Edgar Degas French, Etching (only state; impression from cancelled plate)
Greek Landscape
Edgar Degas
1856

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Edgar Degas - Marie Dihau (1843–1935) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art