The work ‘Nude Wiping Herself’ belongs to the renowned Bath series of Degas. The artist developed the program for this series in the following manner: 

Degas depicts the complex movements of the human body with his unparalleled authenticity. He shows that it can be no less expressive than the face and that it possesses its own diverse, eloquent, and individual ability to move. In contrast to his impressionist associates, who were building their creative method in direct work with models, Degas adhered to a different principle – to observe without drawing and to draw without observing. Usually, he invited models to his studio, made them comb their hair, bathe, or dry off, and then he drew what he had seen from memory, trying to depict the most complex angles.

In the process of working on the chosen motif, Degas often used transparent tracing papers. They made it possible for him to not only transfer the drawings precisely onto paper, but also to turn them the opposite direction, much like printing for engraving The work Nude Wiping Herself was made in the pastel technique, allowing the artist to simultaneously draw and create the color composition.