↗France, late 19th century-early 20th century · c. 1915–26
Water Lilies (Agapanthus)
Claude Monet
Colour palette
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Approximate colour proportions
Estimated from six colour groups in the museum image, including visible paper or borders. Reproduction and lighting affect the result; these are image-area proportions, not pigment measurements.
Bequest of Muriel Butkin · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image licence: CC0 · Museum record & image source ↗
France, 19th century · 1856
Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman
- Date
- 1856
- Medium
- graphite
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 46 x 30.5 cm (18 1/8 x 12 in.)
- Country / context
- France
- Movement / tradition
- European and American art
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Attribution / role
- Museum attribution
- Pathway
- European and American art ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
This sheet of head studies unites three fundamental characteristics of Degas's art: consummate draftsmanship, captured movement and expression, and an almost obsessive attention to the attitudes of the female figure. Drawn in 1856 during his first trip to Italy, the sheet represents the model in successive positions and expressions of suffering. The name inscribed at the upper right-Rita Cacciala-must be that of the model. Writing models' names and addresses on figure studies was a common practice among artists, providing them with a handy reference of models they might want to contact for future use.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0Place in the artist’s career
Compare the controlled graphite head studies of 1856, the mid-career oil portrait of two men examining a painting, and the oil-painted dancers of the 1890s. Graphite and oil make different kinds of edges; the two paintings also differ in support and handling. Cropping and repeated bodies can make carefully arranged compositions feel like momentary glimpses.
The artist’s practice
Artist-wide context; individual works may differ.
Media and surface
Graphite and oil support sustained drawing and carefully constructed painted surfaces.
Marks and structure
Cropping, off-centre figures and repeated poses organise movement rather than record a neutral snapshot.
Palette and light
Colour and tone separate bodies from surroundings; surface handling varies by project and support.
A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.
