After the Bath

"After the Bath" by Edgar Degas (1896) is a delicate pastel work that depicts a woman drying herself, exemplifying his focus on the intimate moments of daily life. Created from canvas and rendered with pastel, it is part of Degas’s series exploring female nudes, aligning with his interest in Nude painting (nu). Although primarily a Impressionism-influenced artist, Degas's mastery of pastels lends a soft, fleeting quality to this artwork, capturing both the realism and subtle sensuality of the human form. Now housed in the National Gallery, London, it remains an important example of his pioneering approach to the nude.