
Wikimedia Commons • Public Domain
by Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas produced this preparatory study for his ambitious early history painting depicting the legendary Queen Semiramis overseeing Babylon's construction. The sketch shows draped figures in classical poses, revealing Degas's academic training before he turned to modern subjects. His confident draftsmanship captures gesture and composition.
This early work shows Degas engaging with grand historical themes before finding his true calling in contemporary Paris. The study demonstrates his classical foundation that later informed his radical modern works. Now at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Ancient Roman (Unknown), -100
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Gerard ter Borch
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Jacques-Louis David
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
Other masterpieces from the Impressionism movement

Claude Monet, 1926
Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris

Claude Monet, 1875
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

James McNeill Whistler, 1871
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Claude Monet, 1899
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Claude Monet, 1872
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
Browse Collection