Estelle finally returned to her native New Orleans in late 1865, accompanied by Degas’ brother and soon-to-be husband Rene. Degas’ mother, however, never did experience a return to the place of her birth; instead, she died in Paris. In his visit to New Orleans in 1872, therefore, Degas continues to portray Estelle in a morbid shadow that is reminiscent of his mother’s persistent melancholy (instead of a lightness that would imply Estelle’s homecoming). In his painting Mme. René De Gas, for instance, Estelle is newly married and also pregnant. Her features and even her dress, however, are so faintly outlined that her hands seem to blend in with the dress; all the while, her derrière is heavily shadowed and her hair and belt are more darkly outlined than the rest of her figure, thereby attracting attention to her pregnancy. The inconspicuousness of her hands gives the impression that she does not know what to do with them, while the shadow at her back suggests she is inclined and uncomfortable leaning back. Degas’ outline, therefore, portrays her to be in anticipation during what is supposed to be a moment of repose. In doing so, Degas essentially describes pregnancy as a state of uneasiness, which makes sense; he witnessed his mother bear seven children, three of whom did not survive. In Degas' mind, therefore, Estelle’s pregnancy is stained with the misfortunes of his mother's life.
A portrait that further depicts Estelle’s aloofness during her pregnancy begins with a sketch of Estelle in a robe and ends with Femme Assis Pres d’un Balcon (1872-3). There exists ambiguity regarding whether the figure is of Mathilde Musson or of Estelle Rene De Gas, but both Cabanne (110) and records of Degas’ notebook (catalogue 318 and 319) indicate that these images do indeed portray Estelle. In fact, it is the precise dating of these paintings of Estelle (but their lack of definite titles) that assert what Benfey calls a “documentary veracity” (Benfey 49). It is as if Degas were attempting to document his own version of Estelle on a specific date. He did not label the portraits, perhaps because he was not sure what image it was that he was really trying to capture: his mother’s or Estelle’s. As such, in both the sketch and the final painting the background (like the identity of the figure) seems ambiguous. In the sketch,
the background of the balcony is nonexistent; later, Degas defined it by lines that begin and do not seem to end, but rather fade, creating the outline of what could potentially be “ornate cast-iron veranda typical of houses in the nineteenth century” (Feigenbaum 203) that provided “intimate, half-private spaces… particularly prized in New Orleans” (Benfey 93). Seeing as the Musson family lost most of their fortune and power during Reconstruction because of their Confederate ties, this painting might be reminiscent of Estelle's lost financial stability; by recreating the image of a secure and financially stable environment (represented by the balcony), could Degas have been commenting on Estelle’s desire to return to a life of wealth? This is significant because it would signify that Estelle was overcome with nostalgia for lavish and “superb palais” in New Orleans, similar to Degas’ mother’s retreat to her relatives’ mansion in Italy. Indeed, his recollection of his travels with his mother pervade in his consideration of Estelle's present condition.
In his last Portrait of Mme. René De Gas, née Estelle Musson, painted in New Orleans in 1872-73, Degas attempts to capture Estelle as contentedly domestic, “the excellent wife” (qtd. Feigenbaum 210), but he instead creates an ominous portrait of the pregnant Estelle; in so doing, he demonstrates the intensity of his mother's memory on his perception of Estelle. In the painting, Estelle is attentively engaged in arranging flowers in a tall vase the way an “excellent” wife should, and her flattering black dress contrasts against a white camellia to direct our eyes gently towards her pregnant womb. His vision of Estelle, however, is tainted with both the red, comb-like appendages of the (funeral) arrangement that blend with her forearm and the sharp green leaves that caress her back, as if luring her towards the table. Although some critics suggest that the contact between the figure and the flowers reveals “a heightened sense of touch” that is foreshadowing her impending blindness (Groat), the imposing arrangement suggests she is lured to death. Degas’ portrait of his cousin therefore depicts her in a “Janis-face” manner: while her outline is swollen with life, her figure is lured to death. Instead of looking forward at Estelle's future blindness, Degas is actually looking backwards at his mother’s doom. Although “Degas’ most affectionate portraits were of Estelle” (May 55), Degas’ “affectionate” portraits, like Portrait of Mme. René De Gas, include hints of suffering embedded in the lines of the happiest of scenes.
Images:
Degas, Edgar. Mme. René De Gas. National Gallery of Art, 1873.
Degas, Edgar. Femme Assis Pres d'un Balcon. Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen, Denmark, Lemoisne, 1872.
Degas, Edgar. Untitled. Carol Selle Collection, NY, 1872.
Degas, Edgar. Portrait of Mme. René De Gas, née Estelle Musson. New Orleans Museum of Art, 1873-1873.