The Bellelli Sisters, Giovanna and Giuliana by Degas

This double portrait of remarkable elegance illustrates Edgar Degas’s constant passion for studying faces and the psychology of young women in high Parisian society. Through the canvas titled “The Bellelli Sisters, Giovanna and Giuliana”, the artist stages two sisters with great economy of means and refined sobriety. Belonging to his realist transitional period, this work demonstrates his perfect mastery of the human figure learned from his classical masters, while heralding the observational freedom of the Impressionist movement.

Two young girls are depicted side by side in a medium shot, standing out against a wall upholstered with light brown and beige geometric patterns. In the left foreground, the first sister is presented three-quarters, dressed in an elegant solid black day dress with a stiff white collar and fitted with a silver belt. Her hands are quietly crossed on her lap and her serious gaze stares at the viewer. Just behind her on the right, her sister sits in profile, dressed in a dark brown dress with an identical collar, a black ribbon holding her brown hair back. Her delicate profile is sharply defined in space. A soft, lateral light coming from the left gently illuminates the faces.

The painter’s craftsmanship shines brilliantly in the absolute precision of the drawing and the subtle treatment of shadows on the faces. His mastery of oil painting allows him to contrast the depth of black with the satin finish of brown with great plastic sensitivity. The artist succeeds in immortalizing the distinction and restrained complicity of his models.