Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman (1856): Art, History and Details

Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman (1856) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This sheet of head studies unites three fundamental characteristics of Degas's art: consummate draftsmanship, captured movement and expression, and an almost obsessive attention to the attitudes of the female figure. Drawn in 1856 during his first trip to Italy, the sheet represents the model in successive positions and expressions of suffering. The name inscribed at the upper right-Rita Cacciala-must be that of the model. Writing models' names and addresses on figure studies was a common practice among artists, providing them with a handy reference of models they might want to contact for future use.

Object facts

• Title: Four Studies of the Head of a Young Italian Woman
• Date: 1856
• Creator attribution: Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: graphite
• Dimensions: Sheet: 46 x 30.5 cm (18 1/8 x 12 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2008.388

A detail from the museum

This drawing is one of numerous depictions of Italians in local costume that Degas made in his three years traveling around the country.

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hôtel Drouot, Paris. Important Ensemble de dessins par Edgar Degas...provenant de l'atelier de l'artiste et d'une partie de la collection Nepveu-Degas. May 6, 1976. Lot 13.
• Rohowsky, Peter S. French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels, Watercolors: Nov. 1977-Feb. 1978. Exh. Cat. New York: Shepherd Gallery Associates, 1977.
• Villa Medici. Degas e l'Italia: Villa Medici, 1 dicembre 1984-10 febbraio 1985. Exh. Cat. Roma: F. Palombi, 1984.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.