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Notes
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Degas was the eldest of five children and often enlisted his younger siblings as sitters for his earliest experiments with portraiture. Marguerite is said to have been his favourite, and was about 14 years old when this portrait was painted. Degas admired her fine singing voice, and she bore a striking resemblance to him, with her distinctive nose and slightly asymmetrical eyes. Despite the close bond between them, the subdued palette and dark background lend the image a sombre mood, and pay homage to the severest traditions of European portraiture. Dressed for school, with her hair tightly arranged, Marguerite has an air of stoicism and melancholy. By painting the head large within a small canvas, Degas brings the viewer into close proximity with the sitter.
Title
Marguerite, soeur de l'artiste
Date
1855–1857
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 33 x W 25 cm
Accession number
GR.33
Acquisition method
gift from Kathleen Epstein, 1973
Work type
Painting
The New Art Gallery Walsall
Gallery Square, Walsall, West Midlands WS2 8LG England
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