A woman holding scissors and turning her head to the left
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Grey ink washes on warm white paper depict a woman seated at a table facing the viewer. At bottom center, her left hand rests on the table holding a pair of scissors up at at a slight angle. She turns her head, looking to the left and slightly upward, her full cheeks seemingly lit from below. Her mouth appears open but incompletely rendered, and the background blends with the dark washes of her hair. A few scratched lines indicate a hat on her head.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
M15342
People
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, French (Paris, France 1834 - 1917 Paris, France)
Title
Song of the Scissors
Other Titles
Original Language Title: Chanson des Ciseaux
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
c. 1877-1878
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/269751

Physical Descriptions

Technique
Monotype
Dimensions
plate: 21.6 x 16.1 cm (8 1/2 x 6 5/16 in.)
sheet: 26.2 x 18.5 cm (10 5/16 x 7 5/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Hilarie-Germain-Edgar Degas, sold; [through Vente d'Estampes, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, November 23, 1918 cat. no. 264]. Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY [?], sold; to Henry F. Harrison, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1973.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Adhémar and Cachin 20; Janis 44

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Henry F. Harrison
Accession Year
1973
Object Number
M15342
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Jean Adhémar and Françoise Cachin, Degas: The Complete Etchings, Lithographs, and Monotypes, Viking Press (New York, 1973), p. 270, cat. 20, repr.
  • Hanne Finsen and Richard Kendall, Degas Intime, exh. cat., Ordupgaard (Copenhagen, Denmark, 1994), cat. no. 5
  • Jodi Hauptman, Degas: A Strange New Beauty, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2016), pp. 50, 94, cat. no 37, pl. 37, repr. p. 51 (detail)

Exhibition History

  • Degas Monotypes, Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen, 10/14/1994 - 12/31/1994
  • Degas at Harvard, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/01/2005 - 11/27/2005
  • Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 03/22/2016 - 07/24/2016

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu