When Edgar Degas first exhibited Women Combing Their Hair in 1875, critics were startled by its frankness and intimacy—one reviewer in the Paris press called his bathers “so real, one almost feels in the room with them.” This work is one of several studies Degas made of women at their toilette, a subject he would return to obsessively in the 1870s and 1880s, exploring both the everyday rituals of Parisian life and the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in art. Unlike his famous ballet scenes, these private moments were not commissioned by patrons or intended for grand salons; instead, Degas painted them for himself, fascinated by the unguarded gestures and rhythms of daily existence. The painting captures a fleeting moment: a woman, her back to the viewer, bends forward as she draws a comb through her hair, while another figure assists or observes. The composition is cropped tightly, as if glimpsed through a doorway, heightening the sense of intrusion.

The figures’ bodies are rendered in broad, sweeping strokes, their forms almost merging with the background, suggesting both the physicality and vulnerability of the scene. The palette is restrained—muted ochres, soft pinks, and cool blues—placing the emphasis on movement and gesture rather than decorative detail. In contrast to the polished nudes of Ingres, Degas’s women are unidealized, their poses awkward and natural, their privacy palpable. The precise provenance of this particular version of Women Combing Their Hair is not fully documented, a common fate for many of Degas’s works from this period, which often remained in his studio or circulated among friends and collectors before entering public collections.

Today, several variations on this theme can be found in major museums, each offering subtle differences in pose, medium, and mood. This painting marks a turning point in Degas’s career, as he moved away from traditional narrative subjects toward a more modern, observational approach—one that would influence not only his fellow Impressionists but also generations of artists to come.