Study for a Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Louis Rouart

This pastel is one of a group of works in which Edgar Degas acknowledged his lifetime friendship with Henri Rouart—an industrialist, gifted amateur painter, and serious collector—and Rouart’s family. This pastel, probably a study for an unrealized painting, depicts Henri’s youngest child, Louis, and his wife, Christine. One of eight large drawings connected to the project, it exemplifies the bold, gestural handling characteristic of the artist’s late, expressive style.