Book Description
Degas's pastel Waiting (L'Attente) is an extraordinary object in its craftsmanship and color, as well as in the emotional pull it exerts upon the viewer. But in addition to these, which we expect from a great work of art, Waiting also has an aura of ambiguity and even mystery. This study look at both its aesthetic qualities and the deeper questions that it arouses. Part of the Getty Museum Studies on Art series, the book offers a detailed discussion of Degas's pastel as well as an analysis of the broader context in which the work was created.
Edgar Degas: Waiting FROM THE PUBLISHER
Edgar Degas was one of the great pioneers of modern art, and the J. Paul Getty and Norton Simon museums are fortunate to own jointly one of his finest pastels, Waiting (L'Attente), which he made sometime between 1880 and 1882, about midway in his career. In this fascinating monograph, author Richard Thomson explores this brilliant work in detail, revealing both the intricacies of its composition and the source of the emotional pull it immediately exerts upon the viewer. For Waiting is, indeed, an extraordinary object both in its craftsmanship and color and, perhaps most especially, in its aura of ambiguity and even mystery.