Edgar Degas, The Bellelli Family, 1858-67, oil on canvas, 78-3/4 x 98-1/2″, 200 x 250 cm (Musée d’Orsay, Paris)
Degas was in his mid-twenties when he painted this canvas. It depicts, from left to right, the ten-year-old Giovanna; her mother (and the artist’s paternal aunt) Laura; her younger daughter, Giula, age 7; and the Baron Gennaro Bellelli. Preperatory sketches for the painting may have been made in Florence where the family was living—the Baron had been exiled from Naples. The picture may have been completed in Paris.
Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
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