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The Old Italian Woman

1857
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 815

During the formative years that Degas spent working in Italy, 1856 to 1859, he made copies after old masters as well as studies of men and women in local costume, both subjects popular among the community of French artists who flocked to Rome. This painting combines a figural style and palette reminiscent of Poussin with an eye for realist detail, evident in the rendering of the woman’s wizened skin and gnarled hands. Monumental and unsparing, the picture avoids the picturesque sentimentality common to many contemporary images of peasants and beggars.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Old Italian Woman
  • Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
  • Date: 1857
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29 1/2 x 24 in. (74.9 x 61 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Charles Goldman, 1966
  • Object Number: 66.65.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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6162. The Old Italian Woman

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More Artwork

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Huit Sonnets. . .Illustré de dix-nuef dessins inédits de Edgar Degas
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1946
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl, Edgar Degas French, Aquatint, drypoint, and etching; printed from canceled plate
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl
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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
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Greek Landscape, Edgar Degas French, Etching (only state; impression from cancelled plate)
Greek Landscape
Edgar Degas
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On Stage III, Edgar Degas French, Softground etching,drypoint, and roulette on wove paper; fourth state of five
On Stage III
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