The subject of women's personal ablutions preoccupied Edgar Degas (1834–1917) for decades and inspired variations in oil, sculpture, monotype and pastel. By the mid-1880s, Degas had amassed for inclusion in the final Impressionist exhibition a series that he described as “women bathing, washing themselves, drying themselves, toweling themselves, combing their hair or having it combed.” The description suggests an unusually intimate preoccupation, far removed from the historical narratives Degas sought to paint in his youth. The same acuteness of observation he brought to other genres was now focused on the bathroom and boudoir.
Given the majestic design of the main figure and the body's tactile presence, Woman Having Her Hair Combed may be the finest figure Degas produced in any medium. Surprisingly, the pastel does not seem to have been…
