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 this 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. Alice Michel 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. 

• Author: Alice Michel, Jeff Nagy (Translated by)
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
• Publication date: August 2017
• Paperback