Edgar Degas: The Young Woman With Ibis

Edgar Degas is a French artist born in Paris. However, the Young Woman with Ibis was created during his second stay in Rome throughout the years 1857 and 1858. Edgar used oil and painting while creating this work of art which measures one hundred centimeters by seventy-four centimeters and nine millimeters (Rewald 4) .The enigmatic work features a woman leaning against a patio at a distance. The city behind the woman who has two ibises on both her shoulders seems to be a Muslim city. Ibis are mainly associated with wisdom and fertility. The authentic meaning of the art remains a mystery since the art was never exhibited in the time of Edgar’s life. Unfortunately, it was discovered after his death. The piece is a product of carefully painted

fine art drawn during the 19th-century European art impressionism (Rewald 6) . Edgar used oil paint produced from crushing color pigments with drying oil which this, allowed the drawing to dry faster. Gustave Moreau suggests that the painting originally consisted of the young woman and later the Muslim city and ibis were added to the drawing. Taking a closer look at the image in particular the two birds, flowers and the cityscape seem to be stuck into the composition of the drawing. These extra details were added to the drawing during the years 1860 and 1862 alongside his painting of the Semiramis Building Babylon (Rewald 10). The use of canvas ensures the rigidity of the painting. Currently, the secular figure painting is worth around twenty dollars. The painting of the woman with ibis Turkmen armor helmet and the folio from the Quran all have an Islamic setting.