There are many myths about the artist Edgar Degas: from Degas the misanthrope to Degas the deviant, to Degas the obsessive. But there is no single text that better stokes the fire than 'Degas and His Model,' a short memoir published by Alice Michel, who purportedly modeled for Degas. Never before translated into English, the text's original publication in 'Mercure de France' in 1919, shortly after the artist's death, has been treated as an important account of the master sculptor at work. We know that Alice was writing under a pseudonym, but who the real person behind this account was remains a mystery, to this day nothing is known about her. Yet, the descriptions seem too accurate to be ignored, the anecdotes too spot-on to discount; even the dialogue captures the artist's tone and mannerisms.
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