Standing Nude
Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Standing Nude, c. 1860–65
Graphite on cream wove paper
11 9/16 x 8 5/8 in. (29.4 x 22 cm)
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1955.1847
Degas’s exquisite handling of the graphite medium in this sheet, made on his return to Paris after a period in Italy from 1856 to 1857, brings to life both the outer form and the spirit of this unidealized figure — no longer a classical nude but an actual person posing for an artist.