Cleveland Museum of Art

In the Salon

Edgar Degas

Date

c. 1880s

Medium

monotype

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Edgar Degas's series of monotypes depicting brothels depicted a hidden aspect of Parisian life. Degas's interest in the subject paralleled the theme of the prostitute in naturalist novels of the era by Emile Zola and Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, and echoed the then-contemporary debate about the regulation—or abolition—of prostitution in Paris. In this print, three women await their clients under a luminous globed chandelier. A standing figure reaches out her left arm as if to beckon an unseen visitor. Edgar Degas's series of brothel monotypes was never exhibited during his lifetime and remained in the privacy of the artist's studio until his death.

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