After the Bath

• Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938)
• 1893
• Black crayon on tan wove paper
• Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
• (1975.1.734)

Suzanne Valadon supported herself from an early age through various jobs, including as a circus performer and an artist’s model. Around the time of this drawing, encouraged by her close friend Edgar Degas, she began to study painting and etching and started to gain recognition for her depictions of domestic interiors. The work shows a young woman seated at the foot of a bed, her gaze lowered as she dries her body with a towel. Dark passages are shaded with quick strokes, while strong contours emphasize the areas of shadow.