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At the Louvre

Graphite drawing of sarcophagus with reclining male and female figures

Edgar Degas (1834–1917) 
At the Louvre: The Etruscan Sarcophagus, c. 1879
Graphite and gray wash on blued white wove paper
4 1/4 x 6 7/16 in. (10.8 x 16.3 cm)
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1971.36

In this drawing, made in front of the Louvre’s terracotta Sarcophagus of the Spouses from the sixth century  b.c.e., Degas records the work in its gallery surroundings, taking careful note of the reflections of light on the glass case. In an etched composition he developed from the drawing, Degas included the American artist Mary Cassatt, standing and looking in, and her sister, Lydia, seated and consulting a book. 

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