When Edgar Degas first exhibited his series of women at their toilette in the late 1880s, critics were both fascinated and unsettled by their intimacy. Woman Combing Her Hair stands among several works Degas created exploring this private ritual, and it is notable for the way it blurs the line between observer and observed. Rather than offering a polished portrait, Degas captures a fleeting, unguarded moment—so much so that some contemporary viewers accused him of invading his models’ privacy.

The work’s precise medium is still debated, as Degas experimented with pastel, oil, and even monotype during this period, often layering techniques to achieve his distinctive textures. The scene unfolds in a modest interior, where a woman sits with her back to us, arms raised as she draws a comb through her thick hair. The composition is cropped tightly, emphasizing the curve of her spine and the tension in her muscles—details that speak to the physicality of this everyday act. Light falls from the left, illuminating the arc of her arm and the reddish tones of her skin, while the background dissolves into loose, expressive strokes.

Unlike the polished nudes of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Degas’s approach is raw and unsentimental, focusing on the labor and solitude of the moment rather than idealized beauty. The result is a scene that feels both immediate and deeply human. The exact provenance of Woman Combing Her Hair is difficult to trace, as Degas produced several versions of this motif, and he rarely exhibited or sold them in his lifetime. Many of these works remained in his studio until his death in 1917, after which they were dispersed through a series of landmark auctions.

Today, versions of this subject can be found in collections from Paris to New York, each bearing subtle differences in pose, color, and technique. The painting marks a pivotal moment in Degas’s career, as he turned increasingly to scenes of modern life and experimented with new materials, pushing the boundaries of what painting—and drawing—could express.