In the Salon

Edgar Degas's series of monotypes depicting brothels depicted a hidden aspect of Parisian life. Degas's interest in the subject paralleled the theme of the prostitute in naturalist novels of the era by Emile Zola and Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, and echoed the then-contemporary debate about the regulation—or abolition—of prostitution in Paris. In this print, three women await their clients under a luminous globed chandelier. A standing figure reaches out her left arm as if to beckon an unseen visitor.