Beside the Sea, 1869
Edgar Degasexpand_more
Pastel on paperexpand_more
Gift of Ruth and Bruce Daytonexpand_more 96.86
Not on Viewexpand_more
In 1869, Degas made a series of pastel drawings near Houlgate, a small seaside resort town in Normandy. Though extremely spare in conception, many of the drawings include detail sufficient to determine the precise locations where Degas worked. In this regard, Beside the Sea is particularly challenging for it is apparently devoid of specifically identifiable landmarks. Instead of trees, rocks, and the other usual vocabulary of landscape, Degas offers a scattering of barely indicated beach walkers to suggest scale and perspective. Nearly reduced to a series of horizontal striations, the radical simplicity of the drawing anticipates the tonal compositions of artists such as Whistler, Buhot, and Pennell.
Details
- Title
- Beside the Sea
- Artist Life
- 1834 - 1917
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 96.86
- Provenance
- Atelier Degas, Paris (until 1919; his estate sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, atelier sale IV, July 2-4, 1919, no. 24). Roger Sauerbach, Paris (until 1931; his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, March 11, 1931, no. 8). Waller Collection, Paris. [Brame & Lorenceau, Paris, 1990-95; sold to Dayton]; Ruth and Bruce Dayton, Wayzata, MN (1995-96; gave to MIA)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Lemoisne 205
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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