Paintings Mentioned in The Art Forger : After the Bath

           In The Art Forger, Claire gets a request to recreate Degas' After the Bath painting from an art gallery owner, Aiden Markel. The painting is of the back view of a woman drying herself after her bath. She is sitting on a wicker chair with her body twisted, as she dries herself with a white towel. Degas' wanted the audience to feel like they were "looking through a peephole" because he wanted to capture this moment in time. Degas usually paints women in intimate moments and unusual poses. The After the Bath painting is one of the many paintings in Degas' bathers series. You can tell that this is one of the more later paintings in the series in that it shows how Degas' style changed over the course of fifty years of the series. This painting utilizes vibrant colors and strong texture. In the painting, you are able to see the tension and contours of the woman's body due to the shading on her back and arms. The pastel colors create a tense atmosphere. Degas' goal was to paint women in their natural form, and appearing unaware of the artist or viewers.