Degas and His Model

There are many myths about the artist Edgar Degasfrom Degas the misanthrope to Degas the deviant, to Degas the obsessive. But there is no single text that better stokes the fire than Degas and His Model , a short memoir published by Alice Michel, who purportedly modeled for Degas. Never before translated into English, the texts original publication in Mercure de France in 1919, shortly after the artists death, has been treated as an important account of the master sculptor at work. We know that Alice was writing under a pseudonym, but who the real person behind this account was remains a mysteryto this day nothing is known about her. Yet, the descriptions seem too accurate to be ignored, the anecdotes too spot-on to discount; even the dialogue captures the artists tone and mannerisms. What is found in these pages is at times a womans flirtatious recollection of a bizarre artistic type and at others a moving attempt to connect with a great, often tragic man. The descriptions are limpid, unburdened; the dialogue is lively and intimate, not unlike reading the very best kind of gossip, with world-historical significance. Here in these dusty studios, Degas is alive, running hands over clay, complaining about his eyes, denigrating the other artists around him, and whispering salaciously to his model. And during his mood swings, we see reflected the models innocence and confusion, her pain at being misunderstood and finally rejected. It is an intimate portrait of a moment in a great artists life, a sort of Bildungsroman in which his model (whoever she may be) does not emerge unscathed.