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Giovanna Bellelli, Study for "The Bellelli Family"
Edgar Degas French
Not on view
The abundance of preparatory drawings related to Degas’s portrait of the Bellelli family demonstrates his grand ambition for the canvas. Among this group, the full-length sketch of Giovanna on blue paper is the earliest study, showing Degas’s younger cousin before he had determined the exact angle of her pose or attire. Her ultimate position is suggested in the large sheet, which also attends to the details of her mother’s dress. The arresting head study in charcoal dramatically fixed with shellac corresponds closely to the final painting.
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