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Your galleryCafé Singer
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Follow the raised black glove toward the singer’s open mouth, then notice how closely the edges crop her body.
This 1879 oil painting concentrates on a performer’s gesture rather than describing an entire entertainment venue. A raised glove, an open mouth, and a patch of red at the neckline stand out against the dark clothing. The close crop makes those few actions carry the scene.
Oil on canvas · 53.5 × 41.8 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Impressionism
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Café Singer
- Artist
- Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
- Date
- 1879
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 53.5 × 41.8 cm (21 1/16 × 16 7/16 in.); Framed: 71.2 × 61 cm (28 × 24 in.)
- Credit line
- Bequest of Clara Margaret Lynch in memory of John A. Lynch
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.