Hair: Untangling Meaning in Art

Novel online lecture from the National Gallery looking at Degas’s “Combing of the Hair” to look at the symbolism of hair in art.

Bethan Durie led us though looking at the picture in detail and discussed why Degas might have painted it. She talked about his use of drawing and how he often recorded moments of everydayness which he saw. She took us though other paintings by Degas which include hair brushing and there seem to be a lot!

Durie also talked about the vibrant red palette and whether this is deliberate or if it is an unfinished work still showing the under paint.

She also looked at earlier paintings involving hair brushing as well as how the image still appears in contemporary art. I’ll certainly be looking out for this intimate but everyday image in the future.

 

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