The artwork titled “Woman Brushing Her Hair” is a pastel genre painting by Edgar Degas, created around 1889. This piece is associated with the Impressionism movement and, as of the last known information, is held in a private collection.
The artwork depicts an intimate scene focused on a woman engaged in the personal act of brushing her hair. The woman is seated, slightly turned away from the viewer, with her long hair cascading down her back. She is holding a brush in her right hand, which she appears to be running through the lengths of her hair. The use of pastels allows for soft, textured lines and subtle color variations. The composition is informal, capturing the candidness characteristic of Degas’s approach to everyday subjects. The background is rendered with swift, hazy strokes, creating a sense of depth and environment without overpowering the central subject. The colors are primarily warm, with yellows and reds suggesting a homely and perhaps sunlit space. Degas’s signature is visible towards the bottom-left of the composition. The piece conveys a sense of serenity and the everyday beauty of a simple moment, hallmarks of the Impressionist genre to which Degas was a major contributor.
