Madame René de Gas, née Estelle Muston
by DEGAS, Edgar, Oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm
The portrait of Estelle Musson, the artist’s first cousin, was painted during Degas’s 1872-1873 visit to New Orleans. Not long after marrying Ren� de Gas, Estelle had gone blind. Degas shows her gaze by passing us, a vacant gaze bent upon vacancy. It is a discreet and simple portrait of one woman’s solitude and isolation.