Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

The Fireside

ca. 1876–77
Not on view
As Degas strove to represent the female body with greater truth, women engaged in the intimate rituals of both the bath and the brothel became his frequent themes. During the 1870s, when novels by J.-K. Huysmans, Edmond de Goncourt, and Émile Zola focused on the flourishing profession of prostitution, Degas too studied the world of the maisons closes, and made about fifty smudged drawings in greasy ink on glass or metal plates which he printed as monotypes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Fireside
  • Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1876–77
  • Medium: Monotype in black ink on white heavy laid paper
  • Dimensions: plate: 16 3/4 x 23 1/16 in. (42.5 x 58.6 cm)
    sheet: 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (50.2 x 64.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, and C. Douglas Dillon Gift, 1968
  • Object Number: 68.670
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, Edgar Degas French, Partially tinted bronze, cotton tarlatan, silk satin, and wood, French, Paris
The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer
Edgar Degas
Founder Cast by A. A. Hébrard
modeled 1881, cast 1922, modern tutu
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
Factory Smoke, Edgar Degas French, Monotype printed in black ink on laid paper
Factory Smoke
Edgar Degas
1877–79
The Dance Class, Edgar Degas French, Oil on canvas
The Dance Class
Edgar Degas
1874
Osage Warrior, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin French, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Osage Warrior
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1805–7

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries and chronologies from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.