The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

In the Salon

c. 1880s

Edgar Degas

(French, 1834–1917)
France, 19th century
monotype
Sheet: 24.5 x 18.8 cm (9 5/8 x 7 3/8 in.); Image: 11.9 x 16 cm (4 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1977.44
Catalogue raisonné: not in Janis nor Cachin
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Edgar Degas's series of brothel monotypes was never exhibited during his lifetime and remained in the privacy of the artist's studio until his death.

Description

Edgar Degas's series of monotypes depicting brothels depicted a hidden aspect of Parisian life. Degas's interest in the subject paralleled the theme of the prostitute in naturalist novels of the era by Emile Zola and Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, and echoed the then-contemporary debate about the regulation—or abolition—of prostitution in Paris. In this print, three women await their clients under a luminous globed chandelier. A standing figure reaches out her left arm as if to beckon an unseen visitor.
  • Lockhart, Anne I. “Three Monotypes by Edgar Degas.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 9 (November 1977): 299–306. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 300-301, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    Pickvance, Ronald. Degas 1879. Exh. Cat. Edinburgh: National Gallery of Scotland, 1979. Mentioned: p. 75, no. 96
    Glaubinger, Jane. “Unique Prints. The museum collection contains a wealth of monotypes, one-off prints that embody creative exploration.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 55, no. 3 (May/June 2015): 6-8. Reproduced: p. 6; Mentioned: p. 7 archive.org
    Lees, Sarah, and Richard R. Brettell. Innovative Impressions: Prints by Cassatt, Degas, and Pissarro. Tulsa, Oklahoma : Philbrook Museum of Art, 2018 Mentioned: p. 68; reproduced: p. 69, fig. 75
  • Innovative Impressions: Cassatt, Degas, and Pissarro as Painter-Printmakers. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK (organizer) (June 9-September 9, 2018).
    Monotypes: Painterly Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 31-October 11, 2015).
    Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
    Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
    Degas Monotypes. Ordrupgaard (organizer) (October 13, 1994-January 15, 1995).
    Urban Vicissitudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-September 29, 1985).
    Monotypes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 3-July 5, 1981).
    Degas 1879. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (August 13-September 30, 1979).
    Degas 1879. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh (August 13 - September 30, 1979).
    Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=In the Salon|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=c. 1880s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.44