Young Woman with Ibis - Edgar Degas
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Description
An early, enigmatic portrait by Edgar Degas featuring a woman in a teal shawl flanked by two scarlet ibises against an Italian cityscape.
This early work by Edgar Degas, painted during his formative years in Italy, displays a departure from his later Impressionist focus on modern Parisian life. The composition features a young woman draped in a deep teal shawl, positioned against a backdrop that suggests an Italian cityscape at dusk. The most striking elements are the two scarlet ibises, which flank the figure and provide a sharp chromatic contrast to the muted tones of the woman's attire and the darkening sky.
Degas was heavily influenced by his study of Italian Renaissance masters during this period. The deliberate, controlled application of paint and the formal arrangement of the subject reflect his academic training. The presence of the birds introduces an enigmatic quality, moving the piece away from a traditional portrait and into the realm of symbolic or allegorical painting. The artist employs a balanced palette, where the cool blues and greens of the shawl act as a counterpoint to the warm, fiery oranges of the horizon and the plumage of the birds.
While Degas is often associated with the movement of dancers and racehorses, this painting captures a moment of stillness. The figure gazes away from the viewer, her expression pensive and detached. The architectural elements in the distance, including a slender tower, provide a sense of place, yet the overall atmosphere remains dreamlike. The work demonstrates the artist's early mastery of composition and his ability to manipulate colour to create a specific mood. It serves as a record of his artistic development before he fully embraced the experimental techniques that defined his later career. The painting remains a curious example of his early experimentation with narrative and symbolism, offering a glimpse into the influences that shaped his early creative output.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Young Woman with Ibis - Edgar Degas
Artist Biography
Edgar Degas
More than half of his entire output depicts dancers. He became a fixture at the Paris Opera, watching from the wings and from boxes above the stage, sketching not the performance but the work behind it: the stretching, the waiting, the adjusting of shoes, the corrections from the ballet master. The backstage fatigue interested him more than the applause.
In 1881, he exhibited Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, a two-thirds life-size wax figure of Marie van Goethem, a real student at the Opera ballet school. She wore a real tutu, real ballet slippers, and a wig of human hair, all coated in wax. Critics called it repulsive. One described the girl as having a face marked by the hateful promise of every vice. Wax was a material for anatomical specimens, not art. It was the only sculpture he exhibited in his lifetime. After his death, 150 more wax figures were found in his studio, many falling apart.
His eyesight began failing during the Franco-Prussian War. By his forties he had lost central vision. By fifty-seven he could not read. The deterioration drove him from fine brushwork to bolder strokes, then to pastels, then to sculpture he could work by touch. He avoided daylight and painted under controlled artificial light. Collectors joked they should chain their Degas paintings to the wall, because he would try to take them back to rework them. He compulsively revised everything.
He disliked being called an Impressionist. He preferred Realist or Independent. He never painted outdoors, which was supposedly the whole point of the movement. Despite this, he co-founded the group, organised their exhibitions, and showed in all eight. He said: there is love and there is art and we only have one heart. He never married.
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