Seated Woman, Wiping Her Left Side (Femme assise, s'essuyant le cété gauche), 1896-1911, cast posthumously 1919–26. Bronze, 14 x 14 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches (35.6 x 35.9 x 23.5 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Thannhauser Collection, Gift, Justin K. Thannhauser 78.2514.10

In the mid-1880s, Degas's vision began to fail and the more forgiving medium of pastel became increasingly important to Degas, who fully exploited its soft, blurred contours and coloristic effects. Likewise, the medium of sculpture allowed Degas to use his hands as his eyes in modeling the pliant wax. These sculpted studies of motion parallel contemporaneous examinations of locomotion by photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose photographs Degas knew. Both Dancers in Green and Yellow and Woman Wiping Her Left Side date from this period. While each work represents a certain type of exploited lower-class woman3ƒ4ballerinas often relied upon the patronage of their wealthy, male admirers, while the nude woman washing in a prosaic pose was a prostitute3ƒ4these works are primarily examples of his lifelong interest in gesture and movement. His deteriorating eyesight eventually forced Degas to cease making art sometime between 1910–12.