Conservation Thyssen

One of the most fascinating features of this Portrait of a Lady is how the artist uses powdered gold to highlight details in: the chain with a cross, the tiara, the rings, and the book’s gilt edges. He applied fine gold using a brush with great precision, to convey to us what these objects would really look like if they were in front of us.

The pastel is superbly executed “At the Milliner’s”. Degas recreates the different textures of the hats and the women’s clothing, in which feathers, flowers and raffia are distinguishable, in a lively and vibrant manner using these coloured sticks. We can also see how the colours are applied in various layers without mixing, even though our eyes perceive them to be blended.