Visitors to hat salons are one of the themes that the artist addressed quite often. The painting “The Modistka”, created around 1882, is considered one of the most famous works of this series.
The girl who tries on the hat is hidden from the viewer almost completely with the back of the chair, but it is not necessary to be a subtle psychologist to unravel her character – confident, energetic, able to make responsible decisions instantly.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the plot, the author was not easily given the result, which allowed creating on the canvas a single rhythmic silhouette of the whole group. Compositional construction of the picture is comparable with the principle of photography, and contains separation into fragments.
According to the official version, the model posing for the creation of the work was the artist’s pupil Mary Cassatt, however, the story associated with the artist’s name Bertha Morisot sounds more original. In favor of this fact, says her passion for the original hats, an independent character, as well as personal recognition, in which she said that while posing Degas, at certain moments she could not understand the essence of his demands.
The Fallen Jockey by Edgar Degas 
Spartan girls call young men to compete by Edgar Degas 
A woman wiping herself after a bath by Edgar Degas 
Sculpture by Edgar Degas 
Dance lesson by Edgar Degas 
Four dancers by Edgar Degas 
Gentlemen at the races: before the start by Edgar Degas 
Lover of absinthe (People in the cafe) by Edgar Degas