Combing the Hair by Degas

This gastronomic intimate work by Degas Edgar, temporarily titled “Combing the Hair”, constitutes a monumental study of female grooming within the private domestic space. This painting belongs to the realist and naturalist movement, in which the artist strives to capture commonplace daily gestures without any classical idealization. By placing his models in an interior with warm and saturated harmonies, the painter offers an incredibly modern look at the intimacy of women of his time, far from conventional academic poses.

At the center of the composition, a young red-haired woman dressed in a brick-red housecoat reclines on a lounge chair with her head tilted backward. Behind her, her maid, wearing a pale pink blouse and a white apron, stands and carefully combs her long, thick, flaming hair. The room is saturated with an intense terracotta color enveloping the walls and fabrics, creating a stifling, cozy atmosphere. In the right foreground, a table covered with a white tablecloth supports a wooden hairbrush and a small transparent glass bottle catching the ambient light. This soft illumination highlights the brilliant texture of the copper hairbrush and the delicate skin of the reclining woman.

The artist’s exceptional mastery of color and texture is revealed in the layers of pigments applied to the canvas. Degas Edgar excels at translating the materiality of fabrics and the silky softness of red hair, transforming this trivial scene into a masterpiece of rare expressive and visual power.