Edouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat, Edgar Degas
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Click on the image on the Met’s page for a zoomable version or use the download arrow.
I remember being struck by seeing this drawing in one of the volumes of the old Time Life Library of Art (The World of Manet) when I was a teenager.
It seemed to me to be a perfect example of an honest, direct drawing: no showing off, no frills, no excess — just incisive clarity of observation and superb draftsmanship; simultaneously accomplished and casual.
