The Bathers
1885-95
Edgar Degas was obsessed with capturing women in unguarded, everyday moments, and this lush, textured scene is a perfect example. Instead of stiffly posing for a formal portrait, these bathers are shown scrubbing their backs, drying off, and lounging in a hazy, green landscape. Though often grouped with the Impressionists, Degas preferred to call himself a realist because he focused so intensely on the raw, unidealized human form. He worked on these bather scenes for decades, obsessively blending his chalks to get that soft, glowing skin just right.
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