Lithograph printed in brown on chine appliqué<>, circa 1888. 243x312 mm; 9 5/8x12 3/8 inches, wide margins. Edition of 25. Signed by both Degas and Thornley in pencil, lower margin. Printed by Atelier Becquet, Paris. Published by Boussod-Valadon, Paris. From Quinze Lithographies<>. A superb, strong impression.
Degas was likely influenced to work with the lithographer Thornley by Theo Van Gogh, the influential director of the Boussod-Valadon Gallery in Paris, and as a result of Thornley's masterful lithographic interpretations of drawings by Puvis de Chavannes. By 1888, Degas and Thornley were working together to produce a portfolio of 15 lithographs based on drawings by Degas. The portfolio was issued in 1889 in an edition of 100, plus an additional 25 copies with each of the prints signed by both artists. Later, Thornley collaborated with Monet (see lot ) and Pissarro. Reed/Shapiro p. lvii.
