Fashion

Edgar Degas and the Paris Milliners

Zuzanna Stańska 18 March 2017 min Read

When we think of Edgar Degas, we see his depictions of ballet dancers, nude bathers, and racetracks. But Degas had another favorite subject – the milliners. Degas was enthralled by high-fashion hats and the women who created them. Paul Gauguin, who was invariably well-dressed and behatted himself, even described him as someone who “dared to go into ecstasies in front of the milliners’ shops.”

Edgar Degas, The Millinery Shop, 1879/86, Art Institute of Chicago, edgar degas milliners
Edgar Degas, The Millinery Shop, 1879/86, Art Institute of Chicago

According to Degas’ the milliners  were “the aristocracy of the workwomen of Paris, the most elegant and distinguished.” The years 1870-1890 were the golden age for the hat makers. At this time in Paris, around 1,000 milliners were working in what was then considered the fashion capital of the world.

Edgar Degas, At the Milliner's, 1881, Metropolitan Museum of Art. edgar degas milliners
Edgar Degas, At the Milliner’s, 1881, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Now in Saint Louis Art Museum (from February 12th until May 7th) and later in the Legion of Honor in San Francisco (from June 24th until September 25th) you can visit an exquisite exhibition entitled Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade.

It features 60 Impressionist paintings and pastels, including key works by Degas – many never before exhibited in the United States – as well as those by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and 40 exquisite examples of period hats, created by the genius milliners of the epoch.

Edgar Degas, The Milliners, about 1882 - before 1905, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles edgar degas milliners
Edgar Degas, The Milliners, about 1882 – before 1905, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Peppered throughout with photographs, posters and prints of French hats, the exhibition links together the worlds of industry, art and fashion, this book examines the fundamental role of hats and hat makers in 19th-century culture.

Edgar Degas, At the Milliner ca. 1882 – 1885, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, edgar degas milliners
Edgar Degas, At the Milliner ca. 1882 – 1885, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Find out more:

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