Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl 1874 - 1884

Edgar Degas created this print, "Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl," using etching techniques. The composition unfolds through contrasts in tone and texture, offering a study in abstraction. The image is structured around broad areas of light and dark, with an enigmatic figure suggested through a network of lines and shaded forms. The dark shawl and bonnet frame an otherwise blank space, challenging our perception. Degas destabilizes the conventional portrait through a focus on form. The needle creates varied marks from soft shading to firm lines, fragmenting the figure. The structural interplay between line and form suggests a semiotic system, where the absence of detail becomes as significant as the marks themselves. This etching prompts us to consider how meaning emerges not just from what is depicted, but from the act of depiction itself. What is revealed—and concealed—speaks to Degas' formal and philosophical concerns.