The Millinery Shop by Edgar Degas

Degas devoted around twenty works to millinery shops, and The Millinery Shop is among the most accomplished. The scene unfolds in a Parisian workshop where a young milliner studies the result of her work with close attention. She purses her lips, perhaps with a pin held between them, and her expression suggests concentration rather than vanity. X-ray examination later showed that Degas initially considered a wealthy client, dressed in an expensive gown and long gloves, and then reshaped the figure into a proud working woman. Traces of that first idea remain visible.

The composition is organised around the hats, arranged on a wooden counter on the left, which occupy roughly two thirds of the canvas. Each piece has its own character, and the whole recalls a flower still life: lines and colours that seem random but were carefully ordered, much like flowers in a deliberate bouquet. The influence of Japanese prints can be felt in the cropping and the sense of a fragment caught at random. The milliner is pushed toward the right edge, with part of her skirt and the hat she holds cut off by the frame, as in a photograph suggesting a wider space beyond.

The high viewpoint, typical of Degas, gives the impression that the young woman has been caught unawares. Yet his many preparatory studies show how much he adjusted the angle and framing before settling on the scene. The painting thus combines a spontaneous appearance with considerable calculation.

Its interest lies in presenting skilled manual work with dignity, and in how the artist turns an everyday trade into a highly elaborate composition. At the time Paris had hundreds of millinery shops and thousands of milliners, figures that would later fall as craftsmanship gave way to industrial production, which adds documentary value to the scene.

Painter

Edgar Degas

Date

1879

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

100 × 111 cm

Museum

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

Genre

genre art

Depicts

millinery shop, hatter, woman

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