Richard Thomson

Degas's pastel Waiting (L'Attente) is an extraordinary object in its craftsmanship and color, as well as in the emotional pull it immediately exerts upon the viewer. But in addition to those qualities that we expect from a great work of art, Waiting also has an aura of ambiguity and even mystery. It is both its aesthetic qualities and the deeper questions the work arouses that are the subjects of this study.

The book features a discussion of Degas's pastel as well as a detailed analysis of the broader context in which the work was created.

Richard Thomson is senior lecturer in art history at the University of Manchester in England.