Artwork
Mademoiselle Bécat at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs (Aux Ambassadeurs: Mlle Bécat)
Mademoiselle Bécat at the Cafe des Ambassadeurs (Aux Ambassadeurs: Mlle Bécat) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1877 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1877, this lithographic print by Edgar Degas portrays a solitary woman seated in the Café des Ambassadeurs, a well‑known Parisian venue of the late nineteenth century. The composition captures a quiet moment within the dim interior, emphasizing the atmosphere of urban leisure that interested Degas throughout his career.
Subject & Meaning
The figure, identified as Mademlle Bécat, is rendered in a dark, floor‑length dress with her hair neatly gathered. She rests her gaze downward, suggesting introspection or a fleeting pause amid the café’s bustle. The work invites contemplation of the private inner life of a modern city dweller, a theme recurrent in Degas’s observations of contemporary society.
Technique & Style
The print reflects his meticulous draftsmanship and his interest in capturing fleeting moments with a realist sensibility.
Executed in lithography on wove paper, the image employs delicate gradations of tone to model form and suggest depth. Degas’s precise line work and subtle shading convey the soft illumination of the interior, while the texture of the paper contributes to a tactile sense of space. The print reflects his meticulous draftsmanship and his interest in capturing fleeting moments with a realist sensibility.
History & Provenance
Degas, though often linked to Impressionism, preferred to describe his approach as realist, focusing on everyday scenes. This print was produced during a prolific period when he explored printmaking alongside his more familiar pastels and oils. It has since entered public collections, illustrating Degas’s broader engagement with urban subjects beyond his celebrated ballet imagery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas on 19 July 1834 in Paris, Edgar Degas came from an affluent banking family with aristocratic roots and spent his childhood among the cultivated circles of the French capital.
