BACK TO THE ARTIST   Breakfast after the Bath, 1883           Details     Description     Artist Degas, Edgar For over twenty yearsDegasoccupied himself with original studies of the female nude. Instead of fitting his women into historical or mythological settings as the old masters had done, he added a note that was new. He portrayed, with strength and passion, woman in her bedroom, in her bath , engaged in all the simple, everyday tasks of combing her hair, towelling herself , twisting , bending , and turning in these energetic actions which bring out the structure of the body in its play of muscles and flesh. This is one of the earliest and most complete statements of the theme. The nude woman, with her moving, agitated outline, is pitted against the calm, column-like figure of the servant. The naked body is strongly modelled in broken colours learned from the Impressionists, and certain hues are laid one over another to build up more solid form and dramatic emphasis.   Date 1874   Institution Private collection     Medium Pastel on paper   Dimensions 119 x 91 cm