Cleveland Museum of Art

Actresses in Their Dressing Rooms

Edgar Degas

Date

1879–80

Medium

etching and aquatint on Arches laid paper

Culture

France

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Although best-known for colorful paintings and pastels depicting the Paris of his time, Edgar Degas was simultaneously an incredibly innovative printmaker. Created during the artist’s most prolific period in etching, this print depicts two actresses preparing for a performance in adjoining dressing rooms. Degas used the walls, curtains, and artificial lighting within the space to create a dense and mazelike composition. This print is one of several that Edgar Degas created by etching and printing a plate typically used to create daguerreotypes—a form of early photography.

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