Ploughed Field Bordered by Trees

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Artist: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Medium: Pastel, over color monotype, on off-white wove paper, laid down on cream card
Size: Image: 25.3 × 34.5 cm (10 × 13 5/8 in.); Sheet: 27 × 35.9 cm (10 11/16 × 14 3/16 in.)
Museum: Art Institute of Chicago
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

This work shows how Degas adapted his monotype prints. First, on the printing plate, he manipulated diluted oil paint with cloth pads and coarse bristle brushes. Having transferred these textural effects to the paper, he added pastel over the monotype, lending definition to the leaves and branches of the trees.

In November 1892, Degas’s monotype landscapes were the subject of an exhibition at the gallery of Paul Durand-Ruel. One critic heralded it as the “event of the season.” The show included between 24 and 26 images of this kind; the art dealer purchased them all, at the considerable price of 1000 francs each.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0.