Artwork
Study of a Jockey
Study of a Jockey is a charcoal drawing by the Romanticist artist Edgar Degas. It dates from 1884 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1884, *Study of a Jockey* is a charcoal drawing on brown paper by the French artist Edgar Degas. Though often linked to the Impressionist circle, Degas identified himself more closely with realist principles. The work belongs to his extensive series of figure studies, a genre in which he excelled throughout his career.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing captures a lone jockey, rendered in loose yet precise strokes that convey both the physical tension of the rider and the fleeting quality of movement. Degas’s choice of a sporting figure expands his usual focus on ballet dancers, suggesting an interest in the broader spectrum of contemporary life and performance.
Technique & Style
Executed in charcoal on a toned brown sheet, the piece demonstrates Degas’s command of line and tonal modulation. He employs a limited palette of graphite and charcoal, allowing the paper’s hue to serve as a midtone while highlights and shadows emerge through varied pressure and smudging, a hallmark of his drawing practice.
Context
During the 1880s Degas intensified his investigations of the human form, often working from live models or sketches made at the racetrack. This study aligns with his broader effort to capture kinetic subjects—dancers, bathers, and athletes—through quick, observational sketches that emphasize gesture over detail.
Legacy
*Study of a Jockey* illustrates Degas’s versatility beyond his celebrated ballet scenes, reinforcing his reputation as a master draftsman capable of rendering diverse subjects with equal vigor. The work continues to be referenced in discussions of late‑19th‑century French drawing and the artist’s commitment to realist observation.
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.
![Young Woman Seated at a Piano [verso], by Jean-Louis Forain](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/jean-louis-forain--young-woman-seated-at-a-piano-verso--f5291ade50c6856d-w320.webp)
Young Woman Seated at a Piano [verso]
Partial Sketch of a Boy in Knickers
Head of a Young Man in a Cap
Poilu and Tommy Conversing
Selbstbildnis (Self-Portrait)
The Cowherdess, Eragny
Paris: The Old Lunatic
Gondolier, Venice
Fallen Jockey (study for "Scene from the Steeplechase: The Fallen Jockey")
The Artist's Son